gratitude

Giving Thanks

It’s Thanksgiving Day in Canada. It’s a day of thinking of all that we have to be grateful for, of celebrating the harvest, of joining with family and friends to feast on turkey and pumpkin pie (unless you’re a farmer, in which case you’re likely very busy getting the crop off the field and the grain into the bin before winter). In Canada, Thanksgiving has nothing to do with Pilgrims, or Plymouth Rock — although when I was a child, we dutifully colored pictures of Pilgrims in tall hats and buckled shoes. I suspect that most of the Thanksgiving-themed coloring pages available in the early 1960s had been produced in the United States. With the smell of grain dust in the air, the crackle of leaves underfoot, and the bounty of vegetables from the garden, the Thanksgiving emphasis in Canada has traditionally been on the harvest (and the aforementioned turkey and pumpkin pie). Kidzworld has a great overview of Canadian Thanksgiving at this link. And, of course, gratitude is of prime importance on this day of thanks-giving. Thinking of all I have to be grateful for produces a very long list. Click on the magic words to learn a few of them…

With gratitude to a teacher and mentor

14 Comments / In The Spotlight, Monday Musings / By Beth

“Bonjour, mes amis!” Those were the words that greeted our Grade Seven classroom that early September day in 1968 when Monsieur Pugh strode into our first French class. Little did I know, the first time I encountered the sandy-haired recent arrival from England that he would have an impact on my life that continues to this day. I quickly discovered that I loved learning French. When I think about it now, I probably would have enjoyed anything this man taught. (Well, he would have had to work hard to get me to enjoy math…) I don’t quite know why I felt the connection with him that I did. Perhaps it was because I felt he truly valued my abilities and my contribution. That was so important for a kid who usually felt as though she was on the outside looking in. I didn’t really fit in with most of the others in my class, but I knew somehow that Monsieur Pugh accepted me for who I was, and encouraged me to be the best “who I was” that I could be.

Some 12s and 56s, and much gratitude…

22 Comments / Monday Musings / By Beth

I still remember the delight I felt on my 12th birthday — not because I was turning 12, although that sounds so much more grown up than 11. It was because I was turning 12 on the 12th day of the 12th month. That alignment of numbers seemed to make the day more special somehow (although I wasn’t then, nor am I now, into numerology). Multiply that delight for this year. This year, my birthday falls on 12/12/12. Not only that, but I was born in 1956 and I will be 56 on the 12th. A birthday always seems to me to be a good time to look back on the previous year and give thanks for all the good things that happened (and possibly for the bad, as well). I’m doing this reflecting today rather than on the 12th, because on the 12th we’re having a special blog-party for the final month of 12 x 12 in 2012. So, click on the magic words for 12 birthday reflections (I had to make it 12, didn’t I?).

24 Comments / Monday Musings / By Beth

It’s Thanksgiving Day here in Canada. As in the United States, many families have a tradition of taking a moment before the Thanksgiving meal to go around the table, each sharing something for which they are grateful. I’d like to invite you all to join me around my virtual Thanksgiving table, as I share some of what I’m grateful for as I look back on the past year. Then, if you would, please share something you’re grateful for in the comments.