Thanksgiving break is upon us. For most of us, this means going home to spend time with our family and digging into a good home-cooked meal. Yes, that means get ready for mash potatoes and gravy, macaroni, corn bread, cranberry sauce, dressing and most of all … a beautifully-placed turkey in the center. If not, get ready for whatever it is your family cooks. Aside from the food, Thanksgiving is a day where we go around the table saying what we’re thankful for and show gratitude and appreciation for the things we do have rather than focus on the things we don’t. It’s a much needed day and reminder of our fortunes and blessing in life. Often, we forget to be grateful and express our thanks to the people who provide for us, but Thanksgiving gives most American families the encouragement and perfect opportunity to do so. Along with eating a big meal and giving thanks, sometimes family games are played and movies are watched.
Some students will be traveling great distances to experience this day with their families while others won’t have to go so far. Either way, students get a break from their studies and much needed leisure time to spend creating great holiday memories. This is what most would consider the picture-perfect Thanksgiving.
Unfortunately, this is not the kind of Thanksgiving everyone will be experiencing. While most of us will be inside our homes with our families, others will be facing a much harsher reality. This year, more than 190,000 people are unemployed while more than 6,000 people were listed as homeless in the state of Wisconsin. For some families, this will be their first year experiencing unemployment and/or homelessness while for other families, it is all part of the routine. That’s a huge number of people who will not have the luxury of enjoying cherished family time and a delicious home-cooked meal this holiday.
Not to mention, some people simply do not have a family to share the day with, because of loss, separation or other reasons. If you are not one of those people, imagine not having anyone to spend Thanksgiving with this holiday. If you do have someone, that’s one thing to be thankful for. If you or someone else has the money to afford a Thanksgiving celebration, that’s another thing to be thankful for.
For too many people, Thanksgiving will not only be unaffordable this year, but very far down on their list of worries as they have more pressing issues to deal with. Thankfully, there are some restaurants and places that are generous enough to open their doors to the public and share a free meal in times like this such as The Pancake Cafe, Good Shepard Lutheran Church and First Congregational United Church of State. Sadly, they can’t feed all the people in need, and there will still be many left hungry as well as in need of many other things.
Therefore, in the midst of saying what you are thankful for and reflecting on what’s good in your life, I urge you to do something that I consider even more important. I urge you to consider the people who may not have a family to share Thanksgiving with or enough money to buy the meal that most of us are heavily anticipating. Consider the people who may not have a home to keep warm as the temperature has begun to drop, especially during these windy nights. Maybe visit a local soup kitchen and volunteer or even perform a small act of kindness. Either way, if you find yourself with a long list of things to be thankful for this holiday, try contributing to someone else’s list of thanks. Happy Holidays.
Pamanisha Gross ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in journalism and communication arts.
