And the food was legit. We started with crispy chips with aioli and tomato jam (fries with fancified mayo and ketchup). I went full Aussie and ordered the steak and mushroom pie and Pickle stuck to his roots with a pulled pork shoulder sandwich with fennel and apple slaw. They came with crispy sweet potato scallops, which were thick-cut slices of sweet potato coated with what tasted like funnel cake batter and deep fried...they tasted just like...America. |
But Thanksgiving isn't all about the food. I'm thankful this year that Pickle and I have had the opportunity to broaden our horizons a bit - to move to another country half a world away from where we grew up and gain new experiences and perspectives. It hasn't all been easy, but we've grown from all of it. I'm thankful for technology that enables us to "visit" with our friends and family back home so easily. Just this past week, we Skyped with friends who just moved to Colorado and took a tour of their amazing new home, chatted with Pickle's parents in Kansas City, and, thanks to my parents, visited my Mimi on Thanksgiving day. My uncle sent a thoughtful message to my sis and me on Facebook to tell us he and his family were thinking of us at the holiday, and I've been catching up with my sister regularly on all the exciting updates to the new house she and my brother-in-law just bought. |
Somehow, watching this video made us realize how cool it was that we were living here. We walk by the beach every day. It's become our new normal, but it was nice to stop and think of it from a fresh perspective - to think that if someone had shown us this video a few years ago and told us that this is where we'd be now, we'd have hardly been able to fathom it. I'm so grateful for all this year has brought us, and I'm glad Pickle inadvertently created this prompt for us to reflect on just one of the many things we have to be thankful for. Wishing you a renewed sense of thankfulness and joy too! -JL |