Letter 029: Thank You
Greetings, hero!
Today is Tuesday—a Tuesday on a week much like any other, a week in a month of a year that hasn’t exactly played out the way most of us had hoped. Yes, on the first of January, 2020, we knew that November would come around eventually, and there’s always some sense that a year could have been more than what it was, but who knew back then exactly what 2020 would have in store!
But despite the trials and troubles this year has brought—and they are many, no matter where you call home—I’m once again overwhelmed by the idea of Thanksgiving. And not overwhelmed my love for family, near and far, or anyone who makes it to my table, or for every pie, cake, cookie, and sweet within arms reach. And not even because this year has necessarily been a very good one. But because we all agree, for at least one day of the year, to give thanks.
See, in some ways, 2020 would seem to offer a more logical approach to Thanksgiving: some form of mechanism by which we could all decide each and every year whether or not it was a year to be thankful for. And I think most of us, looking back on the events of the last year, would all be fine maybe just calling this one off. That if there were ever a year in recent memory we wouldn’t be thankful for, this one wouldn’t be it.
And yet, as I write these words, we are two days away from Thanksgiving. A Thanksgiving that, for more of us, will look a lot different than in most years. A Thanksgiving in a year most of us have no wish to repeat. But a Thanksgiving nonetheless! And that’s the real reason I love Thanksgiving so much—that it comes around every year, like clockwork, based on the assumption that if the earth is still below your feet, there is something to be thankful for.
So no matter how events beyond your control have changed your plans for this year, no matter where you find yourself this Thursday—take a moment to remember why we set aside at least one day to be thankful, no matter what happens. And if the thought happens to cross your mind, hopefully as you doze off for a post-meal nap, remember—there’s at least one mentor out there who is thankful for you.
May the road rise up to meet you!
The Mentor