thanksgiving

There are so many things we can be thankful for in our lives.  All too often the greed inside pushes us to look at what we don’t have instead of being grateful for what we do have.

Family

So far I have talked about modern conveniences, financial security, physical security, education, good health, and independence.  While all of those are nice and I am very grateful for each one, I consider them meaningless without family.

We are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time.  It is a lot of work to clean up the house and plan several days worth of food, lodging, and entertainment, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  The flurry of emails and phone calls from various parents, siblings, and extended family as we try to coordinate who is bringing what is a constant reminder of how many lives we are a part of.

Last night we went to the mall to stretch our legs and get some exercise.  We were walking along a narrow aisle in Kohls when Frugal Boy belted out a “HII”.  I had to look around a bit to see who his target was when I spotted her, an elderly lady in a wheelchair.  I hadn’t noticed her before Frugal Boy’s enthusiastic greeting.  People tend to blend in and get tuned out, but not for a two year old.  Her face lit up with a huge smile with one simple word.  As far as I could tell, she was there by herself; alone amid a sea of people.

Generational homes use to be quite common with three or more generations all living under the same roof.  Then sometime around the Industrial Revolution that changed as younger generations left home to go where the jobs were, oftentimes in the city.  The end result is that we often rely upon nursing homes to care for our elderly family members because we do not have the proximity or time to look after them.  One of the best movies that looks at how family structure has shifted is The Gods Must Be Crazy. The intro is particularly entertaining as it mocks the complicated lives of ‘civilized’ people.

Anyway, while I fully expect Frugal Boy to leave the nest and pursue his own path and honestly I would be disappointed if he didn’t, I do expect to keep in touch with him.  For now, I needn’t worry about having an empty nest.  I just enjoy cuddling with him and reading books.

Family is the most important thing in life.  Without family, what are we?

There are so many things we can be thankful for in our lives.  All too often the greed inside pushes us to look at what we don’t have instead of being grateful for what we do have.

Independence

I appreciate being able to cast a vote and influence governmental decisions.  While an individual vote doesn’t go very far in a federal or even state election, it does carry more weight on the local level.  I have argued before that local elections are far more important than the more publicized federal races.  It is nice to be able to talk to the mayor and get a bonafide response, not just some canned template letter from a spokesperson.

I enjoy religious choice.  There are many different belief systems or lack thereof in the world.  Many people live in countries with state sponsored religions or even worse they live in societies that would ostracize or even kill those that would change their religious preference.

The ability to freely travel through not just the different states of America, but also different countries with little impedance is a wonderful opportunity.  A passport is only $100 give or take.  In 28 years I have visited 40(ish) states and four foreign countries.  Just imagine explaining that to someone living in 1915!  We regularly drive hundreds of miles to sight see and visit with family.

Finally I am thankful for the chance to pursue my own interests.  This is mostly possible thanks to our financial security.  I can spend a night doing wood working, watching a tv show, or playing a board game with my wife.

Thanksgiving is only three days away and I only have one more post to do about being thankful.  It is good to reflect on how much we have in our lives when we are constantly being bombarded by advertisements telling us how much we don’t have.  A major part of living frugally is to avoid envy.  I personally knew a pair of small business owners that each made a quarter of a million dollars a year in their mid 20s.  Neither were happy with that though, because they were chasing after the people making half a million.  Sometimes less is more.

What bit of independence are you thankful for?

There are so many things we can be thankful for in our lives.  All too often the greed inside pushes us to look at what we don’t have instead of being grateful for what we do have.

Physical Security

My what a dangerous world we live in.  At least that is what you may think if you listen to the news.  The latest boogeyman is ISIS, an Islamic group trying to establish a Sharia state by an means necessary.  They are brutes and have committed terrible atrocities, but you know what?  For all of their war mongering, they have failed to impact our safety in the slightest.

People all across the world, not just Americans, have been enjoying a trend of increasing safety over the past several decades.  We are so connected globally that we know when 10 people die in another country in a shooting.  It feels like we are unsafe because we can see pictures or even video of the attack while it is occurring.  Past generations have never had to deal with this level of information overload.  Yet, despite all of this, if you sit down and analyze the numbers, the world is becoming a gentler, nicer place to live.  Slate.com has a great article about this topic aptly titled, “The World is Not Falling Apart“.

I am thankful that we live in a great neighborhood where Frugal Boy can go outside and play while neighbors keep a watchful eye on the pack of wandering children.  I am thankful that Shae and I have never been assaulted, stolen from, or had property vandalized.  I am thankful that I need not worry about my wife’s safety when she is out by herself.  I am thankful that it has never been necessary for my country to call upon me to go to war.  I am thankful that I have not lost any family or friends to an act of violence.

The world really is a safe place, you just have to turn off the news.

What safety are you thankful for?

There are so many things we can be thankful for in our lives.  All too often the greed inside pushes us to look at what we don’t have instead of being grateful for what we do have.

Education

I almost didn’t get today’s post up because I was rearranging my office all day.  I have a desk job because education has been a persistent part of my upbringing.  It is something that I am grateful for, because it has opened up a world of possibilities that might otherwise be closed.

School has been a part of my life for 16 years, but learning is something that has stuck with me from as early as I can remember.  Before kindergarten, my father programmed some sort of rudimentary alphabet game on the old black and white computer to help me learn the letters.  There was another learning tool that took a sheet of laminated paper and stood it up.  Then you would input the numerical code on the paper into the devices keypad and it would quiz you with blinking lights along the side.  I have no idea what it was called, my point is that learning and education start at a young age.

Witnessing first hand how Frugal Boy spends his time learning about the world around him has only reinforced my opinion that it is human nature to expand our knowledge.  While he isn’t getting a formal curriculum when he goes to the babysitter’s during the day (something that is very important to some parents) he is learning something that I think is much more important in the grand scheme of life, and that is social skills.  He must learn how to interact with his peers.  He has to learn names, cope with being pushed around, and recognize when he is the one doing the pushing.

Social education in adults often takes on the synonym of manners and etiquette.  I am thankful that the first job that I worked at was in catering.  I learned through that job proper formal dining etiquette.  It also exposed me to my first taste of customer service, something that is a critical part of my job now.

Education is such an overlooked value in America.  Almost every school aged child knows how to read and write.  Those two seemingly simple building blocks are so incredibly valuable.  In college I was fortunate to be able to spend a week in Taiwan.  The immersion shock of a totally different language, a language that couldn’t even be sounded out by a latin-based American, was an eye opener.  For the first time in my life, I understood what it was like to be illiterate.  If the restaurant menu didn’t have pictures, I could only make guesses at what it was that I was ordering.  Is that the drink menu or the appetizers.  Our guides, local college students, ordered us fried pig ears once.  They thought it was a hoot.  I thought they were crunchy.

Ridiculous.  That is the word that I would pick if I had to describe how accessible education is nowadays.  Ridiculously easy.  Thanks to the internet, you can sit in on Stanford lectures for free.  You can learn how to write computer programs with Khan Academy (free).  You can learn another language with DuoLingo (free and I am currently on day 74).  Just about any DIY project, from car repairs to crafting, has an instructional how-to video on Youtube (free).  There are more public libraries than McDonalds in the United States.  Each library has a wealth of free or cheap material to browse.

Whether you are sitting in a classroom and paying tuition or continuing on your education in a less formal setting, learning never really leaves us.  I am thankful for that.  Education has paved the way for so many advances in humanity from diminished ‘us vs them’ attitudes to building a space station with an international crew.

I would thank my parents for fostering a love of learning in me, but I do not think that is what they did.  Humans naturally love to learn.  They simply didn’t crush it.  So thank you mom and dad for letting me ask questions and explore the world around me.

What education or learning experience are you thankful for?

There are so many things we can be thankful for in our lives.  All too often the greed inside pushes us to look at what we don’t have instead of being grateful for what we do have.

Good Health

Health is one of those things that can be easily overlooked until you don’t have it.  I take my health for granted, so I have to try to make a conscious effort to appreciate it.  I am equally thankful for Shae and Frugal Boy’s good health.

Preventative medicine has come a long way in the last century.  If you follow this blog at all, you know what a big fan I am of vaccines.  We live in an age where polio, measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis A & B are relics of the past.  These debilitating or deadly diseases are not something that I have to worry about for myself or for my son.  I was elated to find out that there is a chicken pox vaccine.  I am old enough that I actually contracted chicken pox when I was a tween.  It was horrible.  I still have scars on my torso and scalp from chicken pox, but thanks to preventative medicine, Frugal Boy may be able to avoid the same fate.

Fluoride.  Yes, I am thankful for fluoride.  Have you ever wondered why dental insurance is not a part of health insurance?  The answer is that dental work used to be considered optional and had no health impact.  Obviously now we know that a healthy mouth is important to a healthy body.  I look at my parents who grew up without fluoride in the water supply and I see what a difference it has made in their dental health.  I have had one cavity (in a baby tooth).  Shae has one cavity.  Taking good care of one’s teeth is very important for long term health.

Vision.  This year was the first time since high school that I have had my eyes checked.  We don’t have vision insurance because we haven’t needed it.  I have always been able to pass my driver’s eye exam and Shae has great eyes.  My siblings haven’t been as fortunate.  Two of them have had LASIK surgery (both loved the results) and the other two are wearing glasses daily.  My eye exam revealed what I already know, my eyesight is on the cusp of needing glasses.  I hate the idea of being dependent on eyewear or contacts so I am extra thankful for each day that I can do without.

The only daily pills that are taken in our house are a singular prenatal multivitamin.  I see peers that are starting diabetes medication.  It is painful and saddening to see individuals so young being strapped down to medication.  Chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and obesity are anchors on an otherwise happy life.  Every time I take Frugal Boy to a checkup or I have my annual physical I take some joy in answering ‘no’ to any medication taken.

Finally, I am most thankful for having a healthy child.  When he is being frustrating by doing toddler things, I try to remind myself that the alternative is far far worse.  Messes can be cleaned up, walls can be scrubbed, books can be replaced, and uneaten food can be disposed of, but a special needs child will always be a special needs child.  My parents raised an extra special needs child and it changed them down to their very core.  I have often thought to myself, “could I do what they did?”  I am so very thankful for having a healthy, normal, bounce off the walls child.  Even if he does make me want to tear my hair out sometimes.

What aspect of your health are you thankful for?