Thanks(you)giving

In October, 1621, the Plymouth Colony Pilgrims celebrated their first fall harvest and their friendship with the Massasoit Tribe by holding the initial Thanksgiving.

That feast day was an opportunity for both the Pilgrims and the Native Americans to take a respite from their busy lives in order to recognize the contributions of their families, friends, and allies; to give thanks to their God(s); and to appreciate that which they had reaped from the seeds they had sown.

So when we think of Thanksgiving as a proper noun, technically we are celebrating a tradition that is 385 years old. But of course Thanksgiving needn't be capitalized, and a tradition of giving thanks needn't be limited to a single day.

While I was growing up, it was drilled into me that the three most important words were "Please" and "Thank you." Whenever I wanted something that was not offered to me, I could use the magic word "Please," and that simple word would increase the chances of me getting what I wanted.

Similarly, whenever some one offered me something - even if it was something I didn't really want like socks or underwear or advice - my responsibility was to say "Thank you" or to write a thank you note. One of my grandmother's maxims, famous in our household, was, "If I can sign my name on a blue oblong [i.e., a birthday or Christmas check], you can sign your name to a thank you note."

As a Headmaster, I try to find ways to give thanks every day. I give thanks to parents for entrusting us with the education and the schooling of their children. I give thanks to teachers for their inspirational work in classrooms, for their insights into individual students, and for their commitment to nurturing a collegial learning community. I give thanks to students for sharing their creativity, their compassion, and their courage; for taking risks, for challenging themselves, and for living up to the expectations we all have for them.

I was with our Pre-Kindergarten classes the other day, and they were sitting around in a circle sharing that for which they were thankful. Their thanks giving lists were long and bountiful and full of the gentle and simple truths for which three and four-year-olds are renowned: amongst others, they gave thanks for "my friends," for "candy," for "rainbows," for "superheroes," for "hot dogs," for "funny stuff," for "butterflies," for "ice skating," for "my warm cozy house," for "my dad," for "my backpack," for "cookies," and for "princesses."

It's a pretty comprehensive thanks giving list and probably not that much different in spirit from the thanks giving that the Pilgrims and the Massasoit shared 385 years ago.

Thanks for reading and thanks for giving.

--Steve McKibben
11/26/06