Being thankful

I passed by the old neighborhood where my mom taught for 30 years. The hospital for common folks was nearby. A flood of memories rushed back. Once, my small foot got caught in the scooter’s rear wheel (and the emergency staff there were extremely helpful and considerate). Or toward the end of my first month Hapkido, I broke my left arm. Guess where I ended up? Same hospital. Long summer in cast!

One cannot help being philosophical: why me? what did I do to deserve being sequestered? Fast forward that another decade or so. You would find me helping out foster kids to find adoptive homes, refugee kid(s) to have cash before embarking on their long flights to strange shores.

I am thankful that by receiving and giving, I have served as a node, a steward of goodness in my lifetime. I am grateful to have landed on this side of the Internet. Grateful that I still possess a strong memory, inherit graceful genes from my mom. Who wouldn’t turn out for the better with moms like mine.

In spite of my lonely childhood as a teacher’s kid, I am now grateful for the housekeepers, a succession of them, so I wasn’t left alone. Yes, there was flooding as it still now is. Yes, there had thieves in the night, just as it still now has. Yes, there were bullies and fist-fights just as it still now exists.

But I am grateful. In war, I appreciate life. In peace, I am thankful for a chance to do good. For connecting and collaborating, for reading and sharing blogs. It’s been an honor to run my fingers on the keyboards, and allow my free flow of thoughts and feelings on these pages. I am thankful for your spending the time, tolerating mistakes (grammatical) and foolishness. Above all, I am thankful for tragedies in my life, for displacement and resettlement. Without hard times, I wouldn’t have enjoyed happy times for the better. So thanks. Mom, friends, x-spouses too. For holding up mirrors.