Giving thanks

So today is a big ole USian holiday where at some point you’re all supposed to give thanks for all the stuff that’s making you thankful. It’s called—wait for it—Thanksgiving. We have no equivalent in Australia. Though we do have, Australia Day, where we commemorate the successful invasion of Australia by white people. As you can imagine the indigenous population consider it to be a day of mourning.¹ The USian Thanksgiving has an equally complicated history.

But all that aside, I love the idea of a day given over to thankfulness. Here’s what I’m thankful for:²

That paper cuts heal quickly.
My iphone. I kisses it!
That the cold of this evil Northern hemisphere winter won’t actually kill me if I stick to my cunning plan of staying indoors.
That cricket exists and is being played right now even if I don’t get to see it.
The fingerless mittens with hoods that Cassie gave me. Another tiny defense in the face of this rampaging malign Winter. Yay!
The talking Elvis pen that Libba gave me because, hey, it’s ELVIS! and also because it’s so much cooler than Maureen’s lame High School Musical toothbrush. I win!
That there are two Australians in the house (yay, Lili and Sarah!) to lessen my homesickness and so we can all follow the election back home together.

What silly little things are you all grateful for?

I’m one of those weird people who thinks there are things to mourn and celebrate about that day. As in, yes, Australia was invaded and taken over from the people who were already living there. And, yes, the early settlers of Australia were also brave and resilient making new lives for themselves a billion miles from home in a very inhospitable place. And, yes, the indigenous population were astoundingly brave resisting them against such overwhelming odds. My country bares the scars to this day. [↩]
Settle!—I’m not going to get too wet about this. [↩]

Posted by Justine at 10:31, 22 November 2007 under Food, New York City/USA, State of the World, Sydney/Australia | 25 Comments »

Comments

scott w Says:

i am thankful for weasels and monkeys.

November 22nd, 2007 at 10:39 am
maureen Says:

I am thankful for ~~unicorns~~.

November 22nd, 2007 at 10:40 am
sherwood Says:

I am grateful for an excuse to make and eat gravy.

I’m grateful to have it cool enough to wear a long sleeved shirt.

I’m very, very, VERY grateful not to have to go anywhere near a freeway today.

November 22nd, 2007 at 11:38 am
niki Says:

i am thankful that I don’t have to work for 2 days even though i’m going to have to make it up by working 40 billion hours on saturday and sunday …:(

November 22nd, 2007 at 11:46 am
niki Says:

and that maureen loves ~~unicorns~~…..hahahahahahahahahaha

November 22nd, 2007 at 11:49 am
6. Justine Says:

You lot better be careful. Blog overlord may stick a certain word in the kill file.

November 22nd, 2007 at 11:54 am
Veronica Says:

No. No no no no. You’ve been brainwashed by too many sitcoms. In my extensive experience, the point of Thanksgiving is to experience a mixture of extraordinary tension and boredom while listening to distressing relatives speak in far too much detail about their bodily functions and/or sexual experiences. At some point, there will be a massive family fight; somebody will storm out into the night and slam the door; somebody else will collapse in tears; yet another person will be caught in the crossfire and deeply hurt for no reason. Often all this is combined with the most miserable travel experience of the year. Sometimes somebody gets sick and throws up. If you have the good fortune to be thousands of miles away from your family in a country that doesn’t celebrate the nasty day, you are still not safe–not only will you have to set up Thanksgiving for a bunch of undergraduate ex-pats, but your boyfriend will probably also break up with you. There aren’t even any presents. If they want me to be giving thanks for things, then I want presents.

The only possible thing to give thanks for is that one has to do it only once a year.

November 22nd, 2007 at 11:54 am
John Scalzi Says:

Creationist dinosaurs!

November 22nd, 2007 at 12:02 pm
9. Justine Says:

Veronica: I’m so glad I’m not USian!

Scalzi: aren’t we all?

November 22nd, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Kadie-Wa Says:

i’m thankful for snow. lots and lots of it right here with us for Thanksgiving in Minnesota.

but i’m really thankful for my family and friends,my house,my pets and of course, books!

November 22nd, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Kadie-Wa Says:

oh, silly things? then yes again, snow.

and i’m thankful for sloths. my life could not continue with out those fuzzy sleeping sloths.

November 22nd, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Chris S. Says:

I’m thankful that here in Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving where it belongs (in October), and thus spare ourselves Black Friday.

Also: I’m terrifically thankful that it finally snowed. Yay, snow!

November 22nd, 2007 at 2:36 pm
dragonfly Says:

i’m thankful that feeding my little boy solid food (did that for the first time today!!) went beautifully. and i didn’t actually end up wearing any of the rice cereal.

November 22nd, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Kenina-chan Says:

I’m thankful for the fact that my house is heated, Photoshop, sharpened pencils, and the letter ‘E’.

November 22nd, 2007 at 3:07 pm
marrije Says:

I’m thankful for princess diana visiting my book and making me giggle.

and also for the wii being back from the shop already, which made my boys happy and particularly the eldest, who won 5 euro off me because i said it would be weeks and i would pay him 10 if it came back yesterday and 5 if it came back today. nintendo ftw!

also, dragonfly, whatever happened to your orange??

November 22nd, 2007 at 4:45 pm
kim Says:

justine’s, scott’s and all my other favorite authors blogs.

they keep me busy when i have nothing else to do!!

November 22nd, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Lizzy-wa Says:

i am thankful for:
-literary geniuses like Justine and Scott-la
-blogs overall, they give me a reason not to do my homework
-post-it notes, i wood forever be lost without them
-erasers, i hate misstakes…kindof
-midnight
-all of my magical friends on here and at scool that keep me entertained
-all the members of the CHASING MIDNIGHT WEREWOLVES club, they rock
-bubble baths
-tide to go
-chocolate bunnys
-smiley faces

-Lizzy-wa OUT!

-and mrgreen
-and mr.licking nose man

-Lizzy-wa OUT! :-9

November 22nd, 2007 at 8:51 pm
parker Says:

I’m thankful the ants didn’t eat too much when they invaded lili’s honey jar

and that australia day – with all it’s complexities – is a public holiday, because it’s very pleasing not to have to go to work on my birthday

November 22nd, 2007 at 9:07 pm
sylvia_rachel Says:

i am thankful for the snow we finally got today, and that we did thanksgiving already six weeks ago, and that the library are holding a copy of magic’s child for me to pick up at the weekend!

also, for the small plot breakthrough i had today while walking the kilometre from the office to bus stop #2 because there were no buses at bus stop #1 (i’ve been wondering who that woman is in that one scene that may or may not end up in the book, and now i know!).

November 22nd, 2007 at 10:44 pm
emily Says:

i am thankful for:
-having no homework over a 4 day weekend
-that my beloved converses still fit me, even though they have a giant tear in them
-that i have a warm sweatahirt with a furry hood*
-that my laptop is working and not being annoying
-that my phone still works after having lay on the ground in the rain for 3 hours last night
-that i have a new issue of cosmo girl near me
-that i can spend this gorgeous day inside next to my computer
and. . .
-for happy magical unicorns living in the land of the happy magical unicorns
*yes it’s fake fur i promise

November 23rd, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Rebecca Says:

there is no work or school until monday
the internet started working again (mostly)
i have a new kitteh!!
my new kitteh is getting over her respiratory infection
i read an awesome book last night
even though it’s freezing bloody cold, i don’t have to go outside until sunday (well, not much, anyways)
i have a new cousin named daniel!!
i don’t have to travel far to go home and see my family and friends and pets
i’m leaving right now to go to a freakin’ movie, which i haven’t done since the summer. yeahhhhh!!

November 23rd, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Judy Says:

I’m thankful NaNo is almost over and that it looks like I may actually finish this year!!!

November 23rd, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Katerate Says:

I’m thankful for 2 days off from school so I can finally enjoy the autumn. I really appreciate living in South Jersey because of that– there are so many trees here compared to the city. I’m also thankful for my dog because she’s like a bed-warmer when it gets cold… and q-tips. It feels so super nice when you clean out your ears with them.

November 23rd, 2007 at 6:10 pm
cassie Says:

MITTUNZ!

November 26th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
25. Justine Says:

they iz good mittunz!

November 26th, 2007 at 2:10 pm