Blessings Blog

Today I'm thankful for an awesome Wisconsin road trip, kicked off last night by a Crispin tasting and cooking class event where I got to learn culinary usage of the verbs "sweat," "deglaze," and "bloom." I'm thankful that we carpooled so we could keep our wits about us driving through a semi-abandoned section of Minneapolis, at least at night, and we found the place with its string of tiny lights in the darkness. I'm thankful for conversations with new contacts and giggle fits with old friends.

I'm thankful for road trip hilarity that made the hour and a half to Menomonie go by in a snap, as well as the extra half hour of wondering why our little blue dot on the iPhone map wasn't finding our friend's house (turns out it helps if your friend makes sure their phone sends you the right address). It's great to have friends who will also whip out their phones, their best guesses as to where that path leads, and their good-natured flexibility.

I'm thankful for the perfect gender ratio for catch phrase teams, tooth brushing parties, and friend sandwiches on the futon. Love.

I'm thankful for extended breakfasts, time to just be together, and the brilliance and bad Mandarin of Firefly.

I'm thankful for schedules to work out for another stop on our road trip to see another high school friend, with whom I have my second-longest friendship. I'm thankful we took a brisk walk to have a late lunch at the Acoustic Cafe, a sibling to Hogan Brothers in my beloved Northfield. I'm thankful for friends who will eat my croutons after I've forgotten to ask the cashier to hold them, especially because I hate wasting food. I'm thankful for time to catch up and even extra time to swap silly animal stories since we all love the scaly and fuzzy creatures in our lives.

I'm thankful for the detour to "Oh let's stop in this store because they have cats!" and find ourselves at their open house with a fire and free smores right outside the storefront, luring us inside with our original intent of shopping artsy products with cat companionship.

I'm thankful for how amazing of seats my mom found us for the Guthrie's production of A Christmas Carol. There is really not one bad seat in the house, but we were kind of shocked when the usher led us down so close you could see it sprinkle the stage when an actor spit out a word beginning with a "p" (without getting rained on ourselves). Apparently I had seen it with my grandparents when I was younger, but at an age where I could not appreciate it as much. And what drew me to see this show this year was a girl who I had taught some tennis to and seen her grow up for the last few years. When she said she was going to be missing some school this fall to rehearse for this play, I wanted to go see her in this other context, especially as her theatrical personality comes in such handy to be silly with the younger tennis campers. It was wonderful to see her take on that role on the big stage, and I would say this version of this Dickens classic is pretty darn powerful.

I'm thankful for the challenges the arts can present us with. That social questions Dickens raised in the 1800s are unfortunately still relevant, but fortunately still being asked. What should we do about those less fortunate than us? How can we bring more light to others in our time on this earth? Lest the ghost of Christmas future bring as much of a racket with strobe lights, smoke bombs, and sinister orchestral accompaniment as the Guthrie rendition. Perhaps we all do not need to be frightened into giving, but perhaps we may need to be shaken out of our complacency. Those who have been blessed with more in terms of material wealth could give more, but many of us could give more of ourselves and of our time as well.

We cannot expect or demand of one another to give more, but I think we should all reflect on our lives and how we can do more. Maybe it's giving food to the next homeless person you see, maybe it's inviting acquaintances or friends who may be without people to share the holiday with over to your home for a meal, or maybe it's dedicating your life's work to reducing poverty and its effects in your community or in our world.

The tricky part of this is the willingness of the human spirit to help others. We are never going to like doing things we feel forced into, no matter how noble, right? There will always be, at the very least, a twinge of a grudge, a shadow over your good deed, if it was done even partially in obligation rather than complete selflessness. You have heard some of my thoughts, but we all can make the choice. The hardest part may be figuring out how best to give of our time and talents, or it may be being the quintessential "cheerful giver" as we are called to be. May we all try to take on a gracious spirit in our lives, in this holiday season and into the season of Christmas future.

I will leave you with this quote from Dickens (who you may rather read anyway than my incessant musings, as his works are quite reputable): "Reflect upon your present blessings - of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."