The milk of human kindness

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. - John F. Kennedy

In the US, we have a holiday called Thanksgiving. It's celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, every year, like clockwork.  While it probably originated as a harvest festival of some sort, we celebrate it as the story of how Native Americans saved the colonists from starvation during their first winter in North America after their crops failed. 

Nowadays, Thanksgiving revolves around a huge feast where people eat WAY too much turkey and then, in a tryptophan-induced haze, pass out in front of the TV while watching (gridiron) football.  That’s if you’re lucky.  If you are unlucky, you are stuck in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes and packaging up the leftovers for a week of turkey sandwiches.

But there are great things about Thanksgiving too.  In the US, it is a more family-focused holiday than Christmas.  Thanksgiving is a 4-day weekend every year--the only one you can count on in the US - giving you time to slow down and be with your family.

But it is the spirit of the holiday that interests me.  Thanksgiving has evolved into a general, secular time of gratitude where people think and talk about what they are thankful for in their lives - a practice all too rare the rest of the year.

We can be quick to complain or find fault in our lives or with others.  Rarely do we stop and just be thankful for what we have and for the people in our lives who mean so much to us.  And if we are breathing and have cognitive ability, we have something to be thankful for. 

My thoughts turned to being thankful this week because of the fundraising efforts Michelle and I have been doing for the Habitat for Humanity build in Cambodia. 

I had set up my fundraising page on the Habitat NZ site and I got my first donation from Linda, a good friend of mine from law school days.  I graduated law school nearly 20 years ago.  I see my friend, Linda only very occasionally.  And, I am a shockingly bad correspondent -- a fact I know peeves her no end.  In spite of my faults, she made a generous donation and I am thankful.

Then there’s my husband.  He’d like to retire but works like a dog.  Yet he made time to ferry me to and from the Barossa for wine collections; to and from my office, hauling wine up and down, and of course, he came to our fundraising dinner after a 14 hour day.

Or Michelle’s mum, who got into the spirit of the whole thing by baking cookies that became part of the prizes at the fundraising dinner.  Baking is something that the women in Michelle’s family seem to excel at. Between her, her mum and her Aunt Mary (may she rest in peace), I never had anything less than a stunning baked good from her clan. 

Or to Michelle, who organised the dinner, wrangled with last minute drop outs, seating plans and money collection.  Not to mention that she is an excellent friend and travel companion.

Or Larissa, another Yank transplant with so much enthusiasm for our project that she rallied  troops from her government department to come and support us at the dinner, even though none of them knew either of Michelle or I.  They were simply entranced by Larissa and her persuasive abilities.  (She also sold several cases of wine to support the cause!)

Or the Spice Kitchen, who gave us a great deal on a dinner (eight years in a row now).

Or Grant Burge winery and their fantastic wines.

Or people who came to the dinner, even though a couple of them knew neither of us.

Or all the people who came to the dinner on a weeknight, with or without their partners and kids.  Not to mention, how grateful I am to many of their partners who stayed home with the kids.

Or people who bought wine and showed up at Friday night drinks, or just contributed money here and there.

Or my employers who allowed me to tap my colleagues for wine purchases and dinner/drink attendances, to store wine in my office, to use the premises for the liquor license, and to be generally supportive of our Habitat project

To each and every one of those people and organisations, I am filled with gratitude and (cynic that I am) with surprise too - surprise that a sense of community still exists.  I am grateful for the goodwill and support that was directed our way. 

I’m still unsure about what I can contribute whilst on the build in Cambodia, but I know that the money raised will go far.  In a country where a home can be built for about $5000, Michelle and I will have contributed funds for more than half a home - and when I say “Michelle and I”, I mean everyone who contributed time or money to make it happen.  I am grateful.