Happy Thanksgiving

Let me preface this entry by saying that I didn't mean to contrast Andy's blog. On the contrary, I have been thinking about this all day but haven't had access to the internet until now.

I love the holiday season. Not so much for the holiday's themselves, and definitely not for the commercialism (I absolutely hate the commercialism). Rather, I truly enjoy the holiday season for what it occasionally does for everyone.

This morning my dad told us a recent story that was in the news within the past few weeks. A boy, age 9 (or so), was diagnosed with cancer some time ago. A month ago he was told he would live no longer than two or three weeks. Make-a-Wish foundation visited him and asked him what he wanted. He told them that the economic crisis has left many families in his area without substantial food for Thanksgiving and he wanted nothing more than to see them enjoy a good meal during the holiday. Now word got around about this dying boy's wish and many, many people gathered together to help this boy's wish come true. Now here is the irony: the doctors were wrong. The boy passed away a week earlier than expected.

When I first heard this story, I really had to think about what it meant to me. First of all, I felt bad for the boy. He never got to see the fruits of his labor. However, who the hell cares?! If he gave away his wish so selflessly, what does it matter? He wanted other people to be happy and just the knowledge that he was helping other people probably made him happy enough. I think the best part of the story, the most touching part, is how the selfless of one boy in a time of need in a season that is meant to be cheerful, really brought together one community to show what it means to not only be a good person, but to show what it means to be a good human being.

An old friend of mine once said that he hated New Years. He said making resolutions at the end of the year is stupid; that it should be no different than any other day. I think that is complete bullshit. There is nothing wrong with giving yourself a time limit and seeing how much you can change in the time you have. Some people need the push.

So what am I getting at with all this? The reason I like the holiday season is because I think we, as a social species, needs a reason, needs a set date where we can all agree on a truce. Where being nasty is unacceptable and everyone comes together even for just a month. Think about it. If the dying boy made this wish in June, would it have the same weight? I honestly don't think it would.

So how do I take in the holidays. I personally don't set any goals for how much I am going to help people. For me, it is enough to just show other people what the holidays mean to me and maybe help to make their season brighter. It is important to show people just how much they mean to me. The holiday season comes but once a year and it is important to make the best of it.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody.