Everything. We have everything to be thankful for this year. We have everything to be thankful for just about every year – but especially this year. There are these rare and exceptional moments in life when you can look around and realize you have only blessings. Everything and everyone is a reason to be thankful. We are fortunate enough to be in that place.
Any and all of our little glitches and frustrations are minor. In fact, they are more minor than most of the issues we would face at home. What’s more remarkable is that in turning our lives upside-down, voluntarily giving up all the conventions and trappings that we usually associate with stability and safety, Emily and I have managed to sustain and create a moving foundation.
The floor never feels like it’s going to drop out from under us – we never feel like we’re walking a wire. We don’t just get by, we don’t just make it. In truth, we walk through the wonders of the world as if floating on air. We are all the more appreciative that this is our opportunity and experience at a time when so many are struggling to make ends meet and have faced such financial hardships.
And not to brush too close to a trite “Wind Beneath My Wings” metaphor, but this isn’t some great achievement of victory of ours. This time and these experiences are a gift from so many of our loved ones. Some very special people love our dogs in our stead. Others tend our mail and help us with random, but important stateside tasks. All of these people plus so many others give us love, support and inspiration. They also bend for us in their lives.
Not to attribute a self-importance here, but we all impact one another. When one person picks up and leaves, others experience a loss, inconvenience or disappointment. So many of the people we love have given up something intangible with our departure and have been gracious enough to embrace it and still love and support us.
If the situations were reversed and these same people picked up and left us for a year, we would most certainly feel it deeply. We know this and are grateful we have such wonderful and giving friends and family.
While we are far away, we think and talk about “our people” – the people we carry around in our hearts. We’re missing some pregnancies, births, wedding planning years, relationship turmoils, losses, emergencies, life changes, personal discoveries, holidays, celebrations, get togethers, happy hours, and everyone’s birthdays. You don’t realize how much happens in a year until you step out of your life.
A few amazing people have visited, met up with us or plan to visit. There are others who toy with it and play around with ideas. We’re amazed by that too. Jumping a plane and heading around the world isn’t an easy thing to arrange – especially for the kind of people we know with amazing, vibrant, interesting, challenging and complex lives.
I can’t tell you how many times we wish we could transport different people to where we are to share in an experience or to have a talk. There are places and events that are “so ” and the experience is a little diminished by not having that person around.
I like to think of it like Passover when we take a drop of wine out of cups for each plague because we can’t enjoy a full measure of happiness at the loss of others. Those moments are our drops of wine – they remind us that life isn’t complete without community, love and friendship.
Luckily, this Thanksgiving someone wanted us to be part of his community and graciously invited us to a Nepali wedding reception. Devendra, a former colleague of Emily’s who I write about before in the “Behind Closed Doors” post, is hosting a reception for his son’s wedding. What a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving in Nepal. We are grateful to Devendra for his graciousness, generosity and friendship.
We are also lucky to have my friend, Tony in town for two days before he takes off on a two week trek around the Annapurna circuit. We even get to spend Thanksgiving with old friends.
This year, there may be no turkey, stuffing or pumpkin pie, we have more than a feast for ourselves. We love and miss all the wonderful people in our lives and want you to know how thankful and grateful we are for you.
Happy 17th Birthday, Arielle and Josh.
Happy Birthday, Lucy.
Sent from my iPad
