Happy Thanksgiving, fellow Canadians! You know that thing on sitcoms where everyone sits in a circle and awkwardly says what they are thankful for? Let’s do that thing. Today I am thankful for science:
- for Banting and Best, Canadian researchers who discovered the insulin that allows my Grandpa, and millions of other people with diabetes, to enjoy a little pumpkin pie today.
- for the portable oxygen tanks that let my Grandma leave her nursing home long enough to enjoy picnics in the Rocky Mountains.
- for joint replacement technology, without which my Dad would be in a wheelchair. (And for wheelchairs.)
- for the millions of cancer researchers around the world whose collective work kept my Mom alive long enough to dance at my wedding.
- for Tech Support, the guy who makes sure that, when someone has a heart attack, the defibrillator actually works. And I’m thankful for all of the people who’ve been saved by that technology, and are still here to celebrate Thanksgiving.
What are you thankful for today?
Why yes, that is a giant pumpkin in the truck behind me!
I’m thankful for the people in this world who can see beyond skin color, gender orientation, religious views, political preference, legal status, and all other artificial divisions—people who accept everyone as neighbors, colleagues, and friends.
And I’m thankful for people who haven’t gotten there yet but are honestly trying.
I am thankful for those people, too, Paula. Especially the ones trying to become better people. We need as many of those as we can get.