Now for the bittersweet feelings. The day after Thanksgiving, I felt blah. I missed my friends, I missed Thanksgiving's past, most of all I missed the wonderful memories. Last year, I spent Thanksgiving in the airport in Okinawa, pondering life, and preparing to start a new chapter in my life. When I got home to Zama, I went to Quail and Sal, reheated Thanksgiving dinner, talked, drank car bombs, sat on the balcony smoked cigars, and shed a few tears. The 2 years prior to that I spent with Scott and Allison. In 2007, I had just arrived in Japan and they were gracious to have a perfect stranger over. By 2008, we were family, and my sister was even there. Man, this is when I miss them the most. Someday, I will be back.
When I was at Julie and Marty's we were talking about family holiday traditions. When I started to talk about Thanksgiving at my Grandma Nanny's and the pinata, one of the people in the room asked if my family had hispanic origin. I laughed, the answer is no, I am not sure how the pinata became a tradition. Oh how I miss those, loud, crazy Turkey Days with my big family.
I have come to the realization that the path I have chosen will rarely take me to a time and place where family gathers and old friends are near, so now I look at Thanksgiving in a different way. I like to see what people prepare, what their traditions are, do they make cornbread stuffing, or sage stuffing? What is the dessert? Is it a dinner or an all day event. All these things are interesting and make me thankful for all the diverse, wonderful, people in my life.
"I feel extremely lucky, extremely grateful, and a little bittersweet, too."
Wentworth Miller 
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