A Time For Thanksgiving

I am not an American.  My version of thanksgiving as such.

I am thankful for this country where I call home.  She may be tiny; her citizens may have plenty of complaints (myself included); but Singapore is still one of the few miracles in our modern world that continues to draw people of different origins to visit and to contribute.

I am thankful to still have a job, continue to be productive.  I am thankful that after 16 years of working, I have found a place whereby everyone around me – local and overseas – are friendly and professional.  Not a single one gets on my nerve, and certainly – to my best knowledge – no one wants me dead.  That is rare and can definitely be classified as a miracle in its own right.  I am thankful that my strengths are leveraged and recognized, and my weaknesses are known and played down.  There is no point asking me to mix a cocktail when I make the best instantly brewed coffee in the world.

I am thankful to have friends whom we are constantly in touch, doing things together.  Be it as dinner or movie, online gaming or simply catching up.  I am thankful that some place their trust in me and brainstorm with me how best to tackle their current situations.  I am thankful that when my car battery went flat, I can call upon someone to jump start my car engine, and when I feel hungry but lazy to drive out, someone would pick me up and let me decide where to eat.

I am thankful to have a group of friends who after all these years, still stick to each other and continue learning Spanish.  I confess that I dread Tuesdays because I sucks in Spanish.  And every lesson reminds that I should have studied more, making me feel more and more inadequate.  But two hours of solid laughter and fun reminds me that learning should be fun and we should learn at our own pace.  I am thankful to have a teacher who is extremely encouraging and motivating, despite – perhaps – knowing at heart that I am a gone case.

I am thankful that my family – in-law and out-law – loves me for who I am, without bothering too much on what I do.  I have two beautiful nieces and one commanding nephew.  They remind me the deep meaning of life and through their eyes, I sense a glimpse of what heavenly happiness is.

I am thankful of my wonderful wife.  She who makes breakfast for me every morning (except some weekends when I have to order McDonald’s breakfast online for the two of us while she is still sleeping), she who does our laundry and irons my casual clothes, she who never gives up on learning to cook better (and in return, I have to wash a mountain full of plates).  As I said to her time and time again: Don’t worry baby, I will eat whatever you cook.  And I will like almost anything that gets out of the kitchen (except that tomato and cheese snack).

I am thankful that some of you still read what I write here.  And I have a website to call my digital home.

Last by not the least, I am thankful of God’s blessing.  Through Him from whom all good things come.