Thanksgiving may still be a week away, but on my flight back to Amman, after a visit with my big sis, I had had such a nice trip that it seemed only appropriate to journal how grateful I was for all of it. So to beat the holiday rush, here are some notes of thanks and a good overview of my time in Deutschland.
I am thankful for the most confident, talented, beautiful, intelligent, passionate sister, role model, guide, back scratcher, and friend that I have to swap stories and experiences with. I am thankful to both her and my parents, that while I may be the only one in the family who doesn't know the composer and opus number of each piece, I can appreciate and enjoy a concert by the Thomanerchor in the church where Bach once spent his Sundays and where his bones now lay at rest. I am thankful that my sister made me go to the opera, helped me to understand what was going on, and nudged me when my eyes "blinked" for just a little too long. Cathy's enthusiasm for music is infectious (unlike her gout...) and I love hearing her talk about women almost lost in classical music but whose genius rivaled, if not surpassed, the male composers of their time. I am thankful to have met my sister's host parents, teachers, and friends who showed me that she is as loved in Germany as she is by me and that she has the support that even such a strong woman needs to stay happy and sane. I am thankful for Herr Reichart, who somehow, five years ago, prepared me for lunch in a German home, and hid some weird working knowledge of the German language in my brain in a place where it could be uncovered if needed to talk about toilet paper, the cost of beer, and teaching. I am thankful I got to go to the German History Museum, that I have never been directly affected by the tragedy that occurs when racism and/or facism take hold of a people, and that remembering and knowing about these things makes me better equipped to combat them in the present. I am thankful that I got to see just a touch of Christmas and advent (though a little bit early). It lit a spark of holiday cheer that I think can carry me through the next couple of months.
I am thankful for all of these things, and to have seen all of this, but I am also glad to be back in my own adventure. One that challenges me and fascinates me in its own way. I am thankful that it is still warm here, that trench coats are in, and that headscarves, quite stylish, keep your body heat from escaping out your ears.
As I left my sister at a time when we would usually be getting together, it made me extremely grateful for the family that I have spent every Christmas and Thanksgiving with for the past 21/22 years. They have provided the love, banana pudding, walks, roller blades, Andy Griffith episodes, peanut butter balls, nutmeg logs, music, trees, and everything else that brings in the holiday season and also the confidence and support to know that I can go out on my own. I will dance around a make believe manger scene this year, with no worry of Cathy spying on me. But, I will do so with an even greater appreciation of her existence, of all of my family's existence and the joy of being with them during the holidays... or this year, just a little before or after.
I am thankful for the most confident, talented, beautiful, intelligent, passionate sister, role model, guide, back scratcher, and friend that I have to swap stories and experiences with. I am thankful to both her and my parents, that while I may be the only one in the family who doesn't know the composer and opus number of each piece, I can appreciate and enjoy a concert by the Thomanerchor in the church where Bach once spent his Sundays and where his bones now lay at rest. I am thankful that my sister made me go to the opera, helped me to understand what was going on, and nudged me when my eyes "blinked" for just a little too long. Cathy's enthusiasm for music is infectious (unlike her gout...) and I love hearing her talk about women almost lost in classical music but whose genius rivaled, if not surpassed, the male composers of their time. I am thankful to have met my sister's host parents, teachers, and friends who showed me that she is as loved in Germany as she is by me and that she has the support that even such a strong woman needs to stay happy and sane. I am thankful for Herr Reichart, who somehow, five years ago, prepared me for lunch in a German home, and hid some weird working knowledge of the German language in my brain in a place where it could be uncovered if needed to talk about toilet paper, the cost of beer, and teaching. I am thankful I got to go to the German History Museum, that I have never been directly affected by the tragedy that occurs when racism and/or facism take hold of a people, and that remembering and knowing about these things makes me better equipped to combat them in the present. I am thankful that I got to see just a touch of Christmas and advent (though a little bit early). It lit a spark of holiday cheer that I think can carry me through the next couple of months.
I am thankful for all of these things, and to have seen all of this, but I am also glad to be back in my own adventure. One that challenges me and fascinates me in its own way. I am thankful that it is still warm here, that trench coats are in, and that headscarves, quite stylish, keep your body heat from escaping out your ears.
As I left my sister at a time when we would usually be getting together, it made me extremely grateful for the family that I have spent every Christmas and Thanksgiving with for the past 21/22 years. They have provided the love, banana pudding, walks, roller blades, Andy Griffith episodes, peanut butter balls, nutmeg logs, music, trees, and everything else that brings in the holiday season and also the confidence and support to know that I can go out on my own. I will dance around a make believe manger scene this year, with no worry of Cathy spying on me. But, I will do so with an even greater appreciation of her existence, of all of my family's existence and the joy of being with them during the holidays... or this year, just a little before or after.
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