As we are celebrating Thanksgiving, I like to remind myself to be grateful for the simple things in life. It was my family's goal this year to find a cozy cabin to get away from the daily rat race and connect with one another in a simpler, yet deeper way.
As we drove through the windy, snow covered mountains of Southern Virginia, we left behind densely developed suburbs, chain stores and light pollution. Our own mobile family pod, listening to the sound track of "Interstellar", playing old fashioned guessing games, while traveling through the darkness on search to find our piece of get away haven.
After causing our car GPS to suffer from major confusion as it tried to keep track of country road coordinates and unchartered Google Map locations, we relied on good old printed directions and our own navigational instincts to find our final destination. The ever so useful smartphone flashlight app guided us down the dark hill towards the entrance of the cabin, only a door seperated us from our holiday retreat: a rustic Appalachian style cabin, evoking a bit of an L.L. Bean commercial in us, black lab mix in tow, wearing fleece shirts in style and cozying up on a woven rocking chair next to the fire place. The digital connection made way for the analog bonding.
It is these quiet, peaceful, slower places on earth that allow me to look inward, to count my blessings and to be completely fulfilled with the pleasures of a simpler life. On our way here, we created a mental list of all the things we wanted to do, a list of all the things that we do not practice often enough, but promised to accomplish during this get away: sit by the fire place and play games - check - family dart competition - check - watching the night sky through the telescope - check - enjoy a cup of hot apple cider on the back porch rocking chairs - check - playing football next to the cabin - check - reading books - check - having a nice Thanksgiving meal as a family - check.
There is nothing I miss, everything that mattes is right around me. No discount big enough would have had me stand in line on Black Friday or sadly, even on Thanksgiving evening. My Black Friday accounted for profits in the family business, writing black numbers for good time and memories.
And as the Black Friday craze seemed to have crossed the Atlantic, showering shoppers in England with amazing bargains, I have found my own deal, to which I don't have to hurry, beat the crowd or rob retail employees of their own ultimate American holiday. I studied business, I get it: in the end, the balance sheet needs to be equal on both sides: your debit side (assets) is where you put your money in, your memories, your time with family and friends - it shows your future, what your money/memories are worth. The other side is your credit, how you funded your assets (either yourself or via other parties), how you made your memories possible. From that point of view, it seems that we have to invest into time with family, into slowing down, increasing our equity, so that we can enjoy our assets for years to come. Keep it simple, keep it balanced.
And as the fire place warms the cozy hut, I unpack the tealights I brought, enjoy my Lebkuchen (German style gingerbread cookies), Mandel Spekulatius (Almond Spice Cookies), a hot cup of Gluehwein (mulled wine) and open the Advent Calender that my mom sent me, guiding me through one of my favorite times of the year.
May your Thanksgiving have been blessed with the wealth of simplicity and be the beginning of a peaceful and joyous holiday season!
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