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EDITOR'S NOTE: The Times asked readers to write us letters about what they are thankful for this year. The following letters represent a portion of the outpouring of mail we received from that solicitation. We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving today.
As a child, Thanksgiving meant pilgrims, Indians, colored paper turkeys we made from tracing our hands, a few days off school, lots of good food and Santa Claus' arrival at the local mall the next day. As the years have passed, I have a different meaning for the Thanksgiving season.
This new meaning for me began to evolve several years ago when my nursing career took me to work with the terminally ill. So many of the things that had been important to me no longer seemed that important. My world began to change as I witnessed each day how we have no control over what life may send our way.
As I worked with the unfortunate and dying of our community, I looked at Thanksgiving as a very important day of being with those I love - fellowship and happy times shared, which no one could ever take away from me. It became a day to reflect on how lucky I was to have my health and a close and caring family to spend the holiday with. I always would invite a friend who may not have had a family to share that special day with so that he or she could be a part of my family on that holiday.
Over the Thanksgiving week, I would spend a lot of time thinking of those I worked with who may be experiencing their last Thanksgiving before their end-stage illness took them from this earth and away from their families. I would constantly remind myself how lucky I was. What more could I ask for?
My life took a turn in January 2002 when my 18-year-old son was killed suddenly and unexpectedly in an auto accident on his way home from school. My wonderful, loving, caring, kind, warm and supportive family and friends came to my rescue and helped me get through every parent's worst nightmare. Without each of them, I honestly don't think I could have been so strong.
Thanksgiving 2002 was difficult, the first without Ricky's sparkling smile to brighten the day. It was the first of not having him hug me and wish me a "Happy Thanksgiving, Mom" in the morning before we as a family watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. After we prepared for our family dinner on Thanksgiving Day '02, we prayed. I reflected on that year which began with our tragic loss. I reminded all that we now have a personal angel to look down upon us. I thanked God for not allowing my child to suffer and for bringing the rest of us together again in fellowship.
As Thanksgiving '03 draws near, I have even more to be thankful for. When someone asks me how I have endured the pain of losing a child, my answer is simple. I am comforted to know that my middle child is at peace and away from any of life's harms. I know that he's one of my three children I never have to worry about again. I think back over his short 18 years and remember the joy he brought to so many in so little time. I know that if I were asked before his birth if I would want to bring a child into this world knowing that he would only be on "loan" to me for 18 years, that I would do it all over again.
Things do change over time. The highlights of my Thanksgiving have gone from pilgrims, Indians, turkeys made of colored paper, days off school and anticipating Santa's arrival to the more realistic. As my life's experiences have shown, the real meaning of Thanksgiving surrounds us throughout the year. Each day is indeed a gift and the true gifts are those that can't be purchased or constructed. They are the ones that come to us naturally, the ones we have no control over. I am thankful for the lessons I have learned, the richness I have experienced and the memories that I hold so close.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ricky Teal died in a car crash in Clearwater Jan. 11, 2002.
I know I'm thankful for God and his presence in my life and for my wonderful children and for the two wonderful husbands that God allowed me to have.
But as I look around and see all the trees and the beautiful skies and the animals and all the things that God has blessed us with and that we take for granted, I just wish we could shake our people up and get them to count their many blessings and ignore their troubles. Most of man's troubles are self-inflicted. If they thank God for what they have and not curse him for what they don't have, they'd be a much happier people. When we smile, the world smiles with us, but when we gripe and complain, the same is usually returned to us.
While I hope the food pantries are filled with donations for those in need at this time of year, I wish all the more that those food banks were filled to overflowing 365 days a year, not just during Thanksgiving and Christmas. The needy are hungry every day, not just during the holiday seasons. Everything we have comes from God, so we need to do our part and return to those in need what he has so generously given us. I thank God for giving me the extra to help those in need, while he allows me to be here on earth and enjoy his many blessings.
I am thankful for the traditions of Thanksgiving that bring normalcy to our lives and, for a brief time, shut out the sorrows and horrors of the wars and inhumanity that humans impose on each other throughout the year.
I am thankful for the childhood memories of my mother standing before our gas stove with an apron tied around her waist while she basted our Thanksgiving turkey.
I am thankful for my middle years when my siblings and I brought our families to our parents' home and the aroma of Thanksgiving dinner met us at the door, along with hugs and kisses. I am thankful for the memories of the wonder in the eyes of my children as my mother opened the oven door for them to see yet another turkey roasting in all its splendor.
I am thankful for the later years in my life when my husband and I anxiously anticipated the Thanksgiving visits of our grown children and grandchildren. We continued the tradition and introduced them to the awe of a roasting turkey and the excitement and caring shared as loved ones gathered around the table.
I am thankful for the blessings of my senior years as I now travel alone to the homes of my children to share in their family Thanksgiving celebrations. I cherish the moments standing at the stove passing on to my granddaughters the secret of the perfect cream sauce for the onions. I laugh with my grandsons as they tease me about how much taller than me they have grown. These moments are precious. They are the cornerstones of our lives and no amount of money can buy them and no worldwide crises can erase them from our memories and hearts. For these, I am thankful.
I am thankful that I saw our country when it was at its best, following Dec. 7, 1941.
I am thankful now that I am in my 80s, so I will not be around 20 years from now to witness what has become of our once-great nation.
I am thankful for James, who inspired me to love without holding on too tight. Thanks and gratitude for the friends who loaned us money, bought lunch, listened, called back and accepted us as we are.
Thank you to the grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins who worked hard and sacrificed to build the communities we live in here in Pinellas County. Thank you to our family members who served in the military, preserving our freedoms. Finally, thank you for family love.
I am thankful for laughter. I have two wonderful kids, Kevin age 9, and Marina age 7, who keep me constantly smiling. I am thankful for the students in my classes at Westlake Christian School. I teach sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade social studies and my students are each unique yet are a group of children who love their families, their school and mostly God. Thanks to all these kids who fill my days with laughter.
As this difficult year nears an end, I'm thankful that next fall we'll vote for president, that the Democrats will choose a well-qualified candidate, and that many will serve our country by studying the issues and voting very carefully. I'm thankful that if the Democratic candidate wins, the treatment of our veterans, other citizens, allies, economy and environment will improve. I'm especially thankful that our Founding Fathers created neither a theocracy nor a plutocracy.
Almost exactly 40 years ago my boyhood world came abruptly to a screeching halt. I was told by my parents that I had disgraced the family name and I must go to America to get an education. The reason? I had failed the college entrance exams in my native Greece, a developing country at that time.
With no language skills and very limited financial resources, I quietly accepted my fate and embarked on my own odyssey by arriving in New York on Dec. 30, 1963. I was excited and I was scared at the same time.
Americans helped me to get an education, allowed me to stay here when Greece fell under a dictatorship, made me a citizen, and helped me become who I am today.
So, what does Thanksgiving mean to me? A time to be thankful to all those who have helped me and a private time to cry.
I have a lot to be thankful for. My mom is my best friend and my hero. In January she fell and broke her left hip and had to have surgery. She has a very bad health history, so I was scared. I am a nurse and I know all the little things that can happen. But she pulled through with no problems.
Mom has had so many negative things happen to her, but God pulls her through every time. So does my Dad. He has muscular dystrophy and is in a wheelchair; they depend on each other so much and on me.
In August my mom fell again, breaking the other hip and again had to have surgery. I never saw so much pain in my mother's eyes as I saw that night. She is doing great now. So is Dad - Mom's home! My best friend is here to help celebrate the holidays!
I am also thankful for my husband. He was in a car accident in June and has been out of work for four months and is facing surgery. But I am thankful he is still alive. I am also thankful for my two children. They are happy and healthy and they are my lifeline. I love them both very much.
I am also thankful to God that I am capable of going to work every day to support my family, as I have muscular dystrophy. So thank you for a hard and trying year, but we are all still here.
Thank you, God, for the earth. Thank you, God, for my family. The end.