By the time this post is published, Thanksgiving day will be over. The leftover turkey and fixings will have been placed in containers and packed in the fridge. Clean dishes will be stacked and left near the kitchen sink to dry overnight. My parent’s dinning room, which would be filled with the sounds of the chatter and laughs of bonding family on Thanksgiving day, will now be cleaned and quiet, ready for the next meal. I will probably be up in a few hours making coffee for myself and my relatives while going through the fridge to prepare plates of leftovers for breakfast. I’ll probably have turkey & cranberry sauce with greens and jollof rice. Or I could have some moi moi, plantains & stew, or turkey & mashed potatoes with stuffing; it depends on what I am feeling at that moment.
I am thankful for simple moments like these: a warm meal with loved ones on a calm autumn morning, a few stories and a couple of laughs, and calls from relatives with greetings of the season. These are things people travel hundreds of miles to get: a smile, a hug, or a familiar face not seen in a while. These simple things make life joyful. I consider myself blessed to have the chance to experience it.