Happy Thanksgiving

So I figured I'd not get any sort of celebration for Thanksgiving this year, being in Haiti and all.  But I did.  And it was great.

Dr Bernard invited us up to his house for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.  But this is Haiti.  Thursday morning he called us and said we'd have to postpone the meal for a day.  Why you ask?  His stove was broken, so he couldn't cook the turkey.  Or more correctly, four turkeys.  There was a group of about 40 Americans staying at his guest house that we were joining for a Thanksgiving meal.  Anyway they got the stove fixed, and we came up yesterday (Friday) for dinner.  And was it magnificent.  Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy. Even cranberry sauce!  And there was desert.  Which never happens at the orphanage.  The closest we get is having cake for joint birthday parties every month or two.  But we had carrot cake, pineapple upside down cake, spice cake, and pumpkin pie.  It was wonderful.

There were a few really good things about having Thanksgiving dinner on Friday, besides the wonderful food.  For one, we were at the school on Friday morning, which happened to be party day.  They had music, dancing, games, and food for all the kids in the school.  It was kinda like a field day, except replace the field with a concrete courtyard about 20x30ft.  But it was a lot of fun.  And the kids had a TON of fun.

Secondly, one of the kids was coming up to Dr. Bernard's this weekend, so she got to have a typical Thanksgiving dinner with us.  Which was kinda fun.  Maybe just for me, though.  Mashed potatoes, stuffing.  Not really your typical Haitian fare.  And she wasn't impressed.  After we finished eating, I asked her if she liked it, and she shook her head emphatically, looking fairly disgusted.  Then, I asked her if she liked the dessert, and oh how her face changed in an instant.  Her eyes lit up with a huge smile across her face.  The head shaking remained emphatic, but with the opposite emotion propelling it.

The last nice side effect of postponing Thanksgiving dinner was that we get to stay up at Dr. Bernard's for the weekend, which is nice to have a bit of time away from the orphanage to rest and relax.  To be off duty.

How much we all have to be thankful for!  I'll leave you with the words of an song/prayer of simple thanks that I learned, well, I don't remember every not knowing it!  Maybe some of you know it too.  Savor these words.

"The Lord is good to me,
and so I thank the Lord
for giving me
the things I need
the sun and the rain
and the Appleseed.
The Lord is good to me.
Amen."