In a few hours the kidlet and me will be heading off to the cold frozen tundra (ok, that's a little bit of an overstatement, though it is supposed to snow a little on Thanksgiving day there) of southeast Michigan. I can not emphasize how good it feels to be heading off to a few days of vacation, to have a break from work and home life, to let someone else take care of the dogs, to go imbibe in good wine and greater food, and most of all, to spend five wonderful days with the family I now value more than I ever have before. Family is the most important thing in my life and I am blessed to have a supportive, loving, intelligent, creative and kind one.
Thirty-two and half years or so ago I was born, a lonely little baby (named Sara, how weird is that?) living in a foster home because my parents, for whatever reason, opted to give me the chance at a better life than they could provide me. Six weeks later, enter my mom and dad, two young adults, high school sweethearts, at the very beginning of their careers, their lives, who decided that they wanted to take the responsiblity of providing a child who didn't get it through birthright a safe and happy home. There was no biological reason for it, though people don't always understand that, particularly when they learn my sister was born to them six and a half years later. They just wanted to make some child's life worthwhile.
I was lucky enough to be the benefactor of this generosity, this supreme act of giving of oneself for the sheer benefit of another. I was raised in an incredible warm and loving home, provided more creature comforts than a lot of kids had, allowed to grow into an individual with my own thoughts and choices, supported in all my endeavors, worthwhile or not. I had nice clothes (at least when I wanted them, though most of middle and high school were spent in a couple pairs of torn up jeans and boyfriend's sweatshirts), got to go to places like Europe, Yellowstone Park, New York City, Alberta Canada, California, and New England. I had the joy of being brought up on the beach, with a house that we could stay in every warm weekend of the summer as well as a couple weeks at a time each year. I had a supportive and large extended family with tons of cousins I loved hanging out with, uncles and aunts aplenty to visit, grandparents who were nicer to me than anyone and spoiled me rotten, two grandmothers who lived until I was around thirty.
All in all, I got the long end of the stick in this deal. I was, at times, a wretched child, particularly during my teenage years. I did not so great and certainly not so smart things that tore out my parent's hearts. I made life altering decisions that were not always to my benefit. To this day, I still apologize to my mother for all of this. But they remained by my side, supportive and loving no matter what bad decisions I made. They tell me they are proud of me, proud of who I have become, proud of my accomplishments and my drive, proud of my parenting the kidlet, proud of my strength.
This Thanksgiving, as I find myself thankful for the end of my marriage, as odd as that seems, I am most thankful for all I've been given in life. I didn't ask for a wonderful family and the best kidlet in the world, but I got it and I am more and more appreciative every day for it. As the future stands before me, I feel the need more and more each day to recognize what I've been given, what I have received and therefore, what I have to give to others as a result.
I was one very lucky baby who got the chance to live.
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