{thanksfully 2.0: the humanity}

I would say I’m cheating, posting videos, but I watched these with a sense of shock… human beings are … wow.

Last March, I had a friend over for the weekend, a friend whom I’d only met for five minutes, in person, and the rest of our interaction was online. If you had photographed our body language, I suspect that we, too, would have been strangling our fingers and standing near each other, but… not too near.

By the end of the first afternoon, I didn’t want her to go home. I’d actually like her to come back this year. It is sometimes crazy how fast the doors to our hearts open, like we have those pressure-sensitive mats in front of them like they have at grocery stores. Whoosh! the doors slide open, and we’re vulnerable, and ready to let someone in.

That can actually be kind of terrifying.

And yet. And …yet.

For the humanity that shapes us, for the hearts that are most always willing to open, for the truth that there are so, so many good people in the world, despite the news focusing on the the crappy ones — for this, I am really and truly thankful.

Today, I just want to reach my hand across the cold miles to my friend — to all of my friends — whose families aren’t all they’re supposed to be:

Hey, you guys. Been there. Had that. Don’t forget: you have more family than you think. Friends are the family you pick. Love you. Happy Thanksgiving.

One Reply to “{thanksfully 2.0: the humanity}”

  1. Like the metaphor of the automatic door opener.

    As a teen, I remember being so panicked and sad by one of our family moves~part of that was being dramatic, but part of it was not having the gift of age. And now, I’ve collected the knowledge that my family (whether blood connected or not) stays connected despite the miles.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your houseful.

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