How does a nomad spend one of the most homeliest of holidays without a home? Let's recap:
Thanksgiving 2005- Zion National Park, Utah, at the bottom of a gorgeous canyon. Worked that morning, hiked in the afternoon, and then had dinner with my mom and two of my sisters who had flown from TX for a visit.
If you look closely, I mean reeeeeally reeeeeally closely, you can see the roof tops of the lodges where I was living.
2006- Flew back to Texas to have Thanksgiving with my family between another fall season at Zion and my second stint on the cruise ship in Hawaii.
2007- San Diego, California, celebrated with a friend and her family and then met some people to go rock climbing and camping in Joshua Tree National Park.
2008- Crested Butte, Colorado; The Great Transient Thanksgiving Potluck where those of us who were gearing up for the ski season all met together with plenty of food and then finished the night off at one of the local bars.
2009- Pittsboro, North Carolina; celebrating with new family I never dreamed I would have.
2010- Singapore; spent quality time giving thanks for my bed and the ability to sleep in 5 days out of the week, went to the gym and gave thanks for the little Turkey who's 10,000 miles away that caused my baby belly that I'm still trying to combat, picked up an extra class in the evening for some extra cash (Christmas presents!), and then went shopping for said Christmas presents followed by a search for the perfect thanksgiving dinner.
Every so often a huge tent is set up in an empty lot outside of the center where I work, and is filled with food vendors as well as booths filled with all sorts of odds and ends. I think there's an actual name for it, but I don't know what it is. This was the site of my quest.
Lots of choices to chose from, most of them fried and on a stick.
Waffledogs... Not really my style.
Finally I decided on a turkish kebab
And this was the guy who made my Thanksgiving dinner. When I told him about the significance of the meal, he smiled and heaped on an extra load of meat.
Just to remind myself what a year will bring...
Last Thanksgiving in North Carolina, learning the merengue with my own little Turkey cooking in the oven:
And exactly one year later, coming home from work on the MRT train in Singapore:
I have LOTS to be thankful for, and just because I was alone and working on Thanksgiving doesn't mean it was any less meaningful or celebratory. I'm amazed daily at my life and the fullness and blessings this journey has brought, and am SO THANKFUL!!!
