Thanksgivings Abroad

As I start to prepare a very traditional Thanksgiving, I cannot help but recall two other Thanksgivings spent outside of the US.

One year I was traveling with the man I was dating. We were in Italy for the week. Thanksgiving came and it was time to decide where to eat. We knew it would not be possible to find turkey in Rome -- and it was even more interesting not to. T had a hankering for Chinese food, so off we went. That year the Thanksgiving menu was in Italian and Chinese. And the Chinese food was seasoned with oregano.

Another year, I was in England visiting an expat friend of mine and her British husband. He loved the states and all things American, and she loved England and all things English. They made a fine couple. When you drank coffee at their house, they would ask in two accents, if you'd like "HAFF and HAWF" with your coffee. Peg had managed to get hold of a turkey, and I had been charged with bringing over cranberry sauce. They had British and American flags flying. At one point I asked my British friend, Mike, if he didn't feel odd celebrating America's escape from tyrannical British rule. He just laughed and said, "Oh, heavens, I never took that serrrrriously!"

But both years, we took time to thank God for the year that had preceded us, and to count our blessings with great joy. It really doesn't matter where you are on that day. Thanksgiving may be the perfect movable feast.

So no matter where this year finds you, in what state or what circumstance, it is my prayer that your blessing list is long and that your year ahead is full of bounty and blessings. Share the joy, everyone.