Why Thanksgiving?

I read this quote on this blog and it literally made me laugh out loud.

"also: i was trying to explain halloween to some of my esl students (they were super, super confused by it) and we actually had some great discussions about cultural vs. religious holidays and i shared my own dislike of the creepiness of it all and i emphasized that it was NOT christian or religious at all but we still went over what it was all about so they would know. and i just could not convey what “trick or treating” was–all the students just stared uncomprehendingly. and then one guy, a ukrainian fellow, said “oh, yes yes we have this in my country. except in my country we say ‘give me all your money or i kill you’”. and then everyone in the class said: “ooooooooooh, yes yes, now we understand”. and as frantically as i tried to convey otherwise, i think they left the class all pretty freaked out by the little kids in their costumes, just waiting to mug them. oh, america."

It made me laugh because it's so true. I'm not knocking on Halloween, I had a lot of fun taking Sadie trick or treating. I'm laughing because sometimes I think we take things for granted because well "that's just what we've always done."

Last week my language partner asked me why we celebrate Thanksgiving. I seriously had to rack my brain to think of the answer. All I could think were indians, pilgrims, Plymouth Rock, Mayflower or wait is it the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria? I could not put any of those words together to make a cohesive answer. Needless to say I left that conversation thinking I need to do a little research. But seriously, we don't talk about that stuff after like fourth grade and that saying is true, if you don't use it you lose it. Looks like I don't need to be auditioning for Are you smarter than a 5th grader any time soon! For now you'll find me scanning Wikipedia for the real reason behind Thanksgiving.

Happy Ten Months!

Dear Sadie-

It's a little late but happy 10 month birthday! You are well on your way to becoming a true toddler. You're pulling up to a stand and sort of cruising from toy basket to toy basket. You are all about getting into anything you can reach these days. You're learning the word no, learning being the key word there. You've started shaking your head no a lot lately too. Sometimes you even do it after we say the actual word "no" but then again you also do it when music is playing and whenever you feel like it really :).

You caught your first cold this month. I felt bad for you but we knew it was bound to happen some time. It seems that colds are ten thousand times worse in little babies, they make your entire chest rattle and they last for weeks on end. Hopefully the winter ahead won't bring too many more of those.

You have become quite the little foodie. Most of the time you're willing to try whatever Dad & I are eating, especially if we're out at a restaurant. Some of your more unique foods have included: hummus, salsa, and enchiladas. We've tried giving you your milk in a cup but you cling to your bottle pretty hard. I'm afraid the switch to whole milk in a couple of months will have to include dropping the bottle, cold turkey.

You love music. You've learned to clap and now whenever you hear music you clap. You're also starting to wave at people. You absolutely REFUSE to leave your bows in your hair and I have to admit this makes me a little bit sad. Even after you pull the bow out, you feel your head another twenty times just to make sure it's gone! Even without the bow you're still SO stinking cute and we love you very much!