somewhere in Massachusetts, USA

From Thanksgiving 2011

On the bus to Boston, I added it up in my head.

1. Last year at Thanksgiving, I was celebrating with the CASAween at Sarah, Rachel and Erin’s house.
2. The year before that, 2009, I celebrated both Thanksgiving and Eid in Mshairfeh, Jordan, with Wijdan’s family.
3. The year before that, 2008, I was in Amman, Jordan, and I don’t even remember who I celebrated with.
4. The Thanksgiving before that, 2007, Carter took me home to his family for Thanksgiving in Anderson, Indiana.
5. The year before that, 2006, it was an Italian potluck Thanksgiving with my blogger buddy Chris and a multi-national group of friends from the Dept. of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, including 2 Palestinians, a Turk and a Filipino.
6. The year before that, 2005, was when fellow Peace Corps Volunteer Lynn and I attempted to dine on Thomasina, the toughest little turkey in all of Jordan!
7. I believe the year before that, 2004, found me at the Thanksgiving table of Peace Corps Jordan Director Darcy Neill in Amman, Jordan, with some 50 or so other Peace Corps people.

That makes this the first time in 8 years that I’ve had the pleasure of dining with my family on what is, for me, the most important holiday of the year. Christmas often sneaks up or even slips past without me even noticing when I’m abroad, but Thanksgiving I never forget.

So, this year, more than ever, I am thankful for family and our traditions of good food and lots of it!