Journal: 11/25/05

Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day, I had a perfect day of joy and gratitude in Brooklyn, CT, with Matt, Jaimie, Jess, and Noah. Matt and I made the early morning drive up to Brooklyn, and, as usual, it was a lovely trip. The trees were dressed in their beautiful winter bareness, and the landscape was covered with a thin robe of snow. As we drove, we had a fruitful conversation about teaching, in which I picked up several helpful hints that I intend to use in my classroom next week. When we arrived at the cozy house in Brooklyn, our perfect Thanksgiving Day continued. Matt and I spent much of the morning playing with our favorite little friend, Noah – building towers and knocking them down, running around like we were riding horses, and pushing buttons on an electronic numbers board. Best of all was when we went outside and made snowballs and a snowman. Noah was beside himself with happiness. He gazed around at the snow in utter astonishment, and spent most of the time simply gathering the white stuff in his mittened hands and examining it. Matt and I were also beside ourselves with happiness just to be spending time with such an astounding little person. The best time of the entire day, though, was the elegant meal that Jaimie and Jess had prepared. Jaimie had grilled the 12 pound turkey outside (starting at around 9:00 am), and it was totally delicious. In addition, Jess laid out a table of brussel sprouts, squash, wild rice, mashed potatoes, and the most luscious homemade cranberry sauce, followed, at the end, by pumpkin pie and pear tart. It was a memorable feast on a memorable day – a day when all five of us, in our own way, gave thanks for the innumerable gifts of life.