Last week was Thanksgiving in the US. It's a day where Americans, watch football, eat turkey, and spend time with family and friends, kicking off the holiday season. Inevitably, it's also a time when many, including myself, take stock of all they have to be grateful for. Some years this is a larger challenge than others. It's sometimes hard to push past the things in life that make us unhappy to get to the things we are truly thankful for. We all have true blessings in our lives both great and small, but when times are difficult it becomes more important to focus on our blessings. I always say that life is in the details - it is the little things that we often pass off in our daily living of life that really end up becoming the fabric of it.
John Henry, undoubtedly, gave each of us gifts and blessings both great and small. Below is a short list of things that I am grateful for because of JH:
Meeting him
Seeing him perform - everywhere
Meeting,loving, and being embraced by his MSU Family
Sleepovers
Long outdoor lunches during the work day
Meeting Kevin
Schmoopie
Him becoming part of my family and I becoming part of his
Hummingbirds and Arizona
Fire Island
Bear Hugs
Animal Sound Effects
My Kangaroo Paw Bottle Opener
Orange
Spontaneous singing and dancing
Being a Cupcake
My list could go on for a while and I'm sure that each of you have a list just as endearing, strange, and personal. I hope you will share some of your lists with me by replying to this post! ;-)
But the thing that I'm most grateful for right now regarding John Henry is his desire to make the world a better place. He wanted to have a good life and did a good job living one. But he also wanted other people to live a happy life and would often do little things for people to help them do that, thus making the world a better place one little detail at a time. He would, as I and others have said, pay it forward.
Remember: Thanksgiving is not only a proper noun - it's a verb, requiring action. So during the holiday season and throughout the year, give thanks for all you are grateful for and pay it forward, in the spirit of John Henry.
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