Thanksgiving 2012
Dear St. Margaret’s Family and Friends,
From the time I was a little boy, Thanksgiving has always been special for me. I have vivid memories of family trips on Thanksgiving morning to my grandparents’ house when we all climbed in the family car and made the two hour drive to the best smelling house on the planet. My grandmother was a wonderful cook and the food that graced the table in those days was truly awesome. In the early going, there were lots of us there – grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and dogs. The day always included a touch football game when my older brother and cousins inflicted serious pain on me followed by a family game of whist (does anyone still play that game?), dinner with small tables off to the side for us little ones and more food than we ever saw at any other time of the year.
Perhaps the most vivid memory for me of those Thanksgiving days long ago was standing together, holding hands and singing “We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing.” Truth be told, I never could remember the rest of the words, but I loved the melody and more importantly, I truly loved that we all sang the song together in a genuine display of family love and thankfulness. Of course, as time and loved ones have passed, the family gatherings have taken on a new look but we have tried to maintain the same spirit that permeated those memorable family reunions.
Thanksgiving this year is, of course, very different for many people in our country and around the world. On the east coast, Hurricane Sandy has provided a graphic reminder for all of us never to take our many blessings for granted. Fortunately, none of our family members was impacted by the storm, but as we know all too well, thousands of others weren’t so fortunate. In only the way that our school community can, serious efforts have begun across all divisions of the school to develop a plan to provide aid and support for those in Sandy’s path. We will present a detailed plan for our school-wide relief effort when we return next week, but at this point we do know that a special showing of the movie “Grease” will occur on November 30 followed by a “Sock It to Sandy” all-school Music Festival on December 14. By all measure, the early stages of this plan reflect yet again an extraordinary commitment on the part of so many in our school community ready and willing to reach out and lend a hand to those in need.
As we break for another Thanksgiving and time with family and friends, Pat and I do so with a deep sense of gratitude for our time at St. Margaret’s and the wonderful memories we share with so many of you. While Thanksgiving Day itself does indeed come only once a year, we have felt blessed to be a part of this school community where the spirit of gratitude and appreciation is a major part of each and every day.