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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2 comments:
erin--this is the first holiday season without my dad, and without john henry.
just wanted to say to you and all the friends out there that i'm thinking of everyone that will miss john henry this holiday season, you're all in my heart and in my prayers. love, annie
Like Annie, in the previous comment, this too is my first holiday season without my dad. (February 9th he passed). And, of course, John Henry. And as you know, but others might not, my cat of 14+ years, Cindy "Miss Pretty Kitty" died just 2 days after Thanksgiving on November 24th. It is has been an rough year for these and other reasons...but as you pointed out it is very important to remember all that I am grateful for.
Toonces for one! I find it ironic that Toonces lost his dad in August, and now I have lost my Cindy, but I am so grateful we have eachother now. He is a great being, and every day when I look into his eyes and brush his fur, I am reminded of John Henry. I am so grateful that I offered to "watch" him when John Henry and I spoke in the summer when he was planning to go to Australia. I am grateful that I am now his care provider.
Some things I am thankful for off the top of my mind that John Henry gave to me: his always supportive friendship ...being the one to bring him to Fire Island for the first time in 1998, and then spending several other vacations there with him there ...dinners out with him ...being a part of FLUiD..."BIG CHUBBY BABY" ...meow meow MEOW meow meow ...his love for "America Idol" (and Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler and Jennifer Hudson) ...dancing and the few GMHC AIDS Dance-a-thons we did together ...singing duets at karaoke ...the Southern Decadence-New Orleans trip ...FREE DRINK TICKETS! & being on the VIP list at many fabulous events ...inviting me to march in the Gay Pride Parade (the year of his HUGE party that followed) ...sitting talking on his deck for hours ...all the great people and friends he introduced me to over the yeas ...and always saying to me that he "loved me more" when we parted.
Thanks for a beautiful posting...our lives will be the better having known him ...and will never be the same without him.
peace, love and with much gratitude,
greg (aka Greggy!)
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