Attitude of Gratitude

Indian Bry and Pilgrim Dawn - 2006

Thanksgiving in Holland does not exist. For expats who want to celebrate, you typically must go to an event organized by an expat organization or get together with friends and plan a feast of your own. But turkeys are not readily available in the Netherlands so what do you do? Well, some butchers here will sell turkeys but you must order them well in advance. Apparently they only fatten up and sell turkeys to the expats, specifically for the holidays! This year we ordered a 4.5 kilo turkey for a group of 10 American friends.

Of course, you can’t get things like stuffing mix, pie crusts, pumpkin filling, or cranberries in the shops here either. We therefore have to go to the incredibly overpriced expat shop and purchase them. Again, you have to do this in advance or you won’t be able to find them anywhere in the city.

When I first moved here I made a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving – having purchase pumpkin pie filling and the graham cracker pie crust at the wildly expensive expat specialty store – and my friend Steph dropped by to pick it up. I had just closed the door when I heard a monstrous thump outside. Apparently as Steph was carefully maneuvering down my curved and deathly steep stairs she tripped and dropped the pie on the floor. After checking to see if she was okay, I started scooping the pie up to throw away and cleaning up.

If the same thing happened today, I would be down on my hands and knees figuring out a way to carefully save that pie! After living here for years, you begin to miss the things from home and a pie splattered all over the bottom of the stairs will not stop you from somehow finding a way to salvage the good parts at all costs!

Ho hum… I didn’t realize until I started writing this that I’m feeling a little homesick. I’m reminded about how my entire family – parents, sister, brother, nieces and nephews – will all be out on 50 acres of land enjoying a big dinner with mom’s terrible stuffing, riding motorcycles/three-wheelers, tractors, and fishing. And how Thanksgiving really kicks off the beginning of the holiday season in the USA. All of that makes me feel a bit lonely here today. I don’t think anyone from back home can really relate to how it feels to be so far away during the holidays. :-( It ain’t all glitzy travel and glamour!

But, I’m reminded that Thanksgiving is a time to feeling gratitude for all you have. And today I’m thankful for this: I have the world’s greatest friends here to share the good times (and the lonely times) on this Thanksgiving! Happy Turkey Day to everyone out there!