As the last Thursday in November draws near, we anticipate spending time with family and friends, eating a feast of turkey and all the trimmings, drinking an eggnog and watching some football. We also turn our thoughts to what we are thankful for in our lives.
We never know what to expect when we pose the question to our pre-school kids and grandkids. One might say that it is kind of scary — but we ask just the same. We are relieved when their responses include Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, a cozy bed, good food to eat, the family pet, the cartoon and learning channels on the television, their friends at daycare, bedtime stories, nature walks, playing in the park, stuffed animals, and fast food restaurants. During grade school, the kids add to the above list with such things as their teacher and such school-related tasks as learning colors, ABC’s, reading, writing, arithmetic, riding a two-wheeler, starting with training wheels of course, increasing their independence as their world expands from the house and fenced yard to the parks and ball fields, immersing themselves in technology including iPads, computers, and smart phones, all of which can be learning tools or dangerous traps, and growing a circle of friends who share their values and ideas.
As we work our way through junior and senior high, aka the hormone years, we appreciate the height, the muscular development, the curves in all the right places and the experimentation as our sexuality expands. We are thankful for becoming young men and women and the responsibility that goes along with that process. If we are still just kids, we don’t want to realize it!
College and young adult years bring a more mature list to the Thanksgiving table, along with the realization that all of those rules and restrictions that prompted responses such as “You don’t trust me.” “All the other kids are doing it,” “I’m not stupid; I would never drink and drive or text while I am driving,” were in your best interest. You become aware of and thankful for the parental guidance and vow to follow their patterns as you marry and start a family.
During our eat, sleep work years, and as we attend our children’s active years, we thank God, or whatever your higher power is called, for healthy, happy, busy kids who are headed toward a happy life. We are thankful for our parents’ retirement and for full, busy and enjoyable “Golden Years.” As we realize that there are some activities that we can no longer do, we are more thankful for what our bodies still allow and for such things as low cholesterol, strong heart, clear and healthy lungs, and minimal arthritic or neurological problems.
Senior citizens are thankful for their health that they still know family and friends, can drive safely, see and hear (sort of), can find their way to and from the store and, last but not least, have adequate strength in our sphincter muscles at the south end of our urinary and digestive tracts.
Thank you for joining me in a life full of memories as we review how our own Thanksgiving evolves over the years.
— Ken Bicha is a longtime Port Orchard resident, past president of the Port Orchard Eagles and a Port Orchard Man of the Year.
We never know what to expect when we pose the question to our pre-school kids and grandkids. One might say that it is kind of scary — but we ask just the same. We are relieved when their responses include Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, a cozy bed, good food to eat, the family pet, the cartoon and learning channels on the television, their friends at daycare, bedtime stories, nature walks, playing in the park, stuffed animals, and fast food restaurants. During grade school, the kids add to the above list with such things as their teacher and such school-related tasks as learning colors, ABC’s, reading, writing, arithmetic, riding a two-wheeler, starting with training wheels of course, increasing their independence as their world expands from the house and fenced yard to the parks and ball fields, immersing themselves in technology including iPads, computers, and smart phones, all of which can be learning tools or dangerous traps, and growing a circle of friends who share their values and ideas.
As we work our way through junior and senior high, aka the hormone years, we appreciate the height, the muscular development, the bulges in all the right places and the experimentation as our sexuality expands. We are thankful for becoming young men and women and the responsibility that goes along with that process. If we are still just kids, we don’t want to realize it!
College and young adult years bring a more mature list to the Thanksgiving table, along with the realization that all of those rules and restrictions that prompted responses such as “You don’t trust me.” “All the other kids are doing it,” “I’m not stupid; I would never drink and drive or text while I am driving,” were in your best interest. You become aware of and thankful for the parental guidance and vow to follow their patterns as you marry and start a family.
During our eat, sleep work years, and as we attend our children’s active years, we thank God, or whatever your higher power is called, for healthy, happy, busy kids who are headed toward a happy life. We are thankful for our parents’ retirement and for full, busy and enjoyable “Golden Years.” As we realize that there are some activities that we can no longer do, we are more thankful for what our bodies still allow and for such things as low cholesterol, strong heart, clear and healthy lungs, and minimal arthritic or neurological problems.
Senior citizens are thankful for their health that they still know family and friends, can drive safely, see and hear (sort of), can find their way to and from the store and, last but not least, have adequate strength in our sphincter muscles at the south end of our urinary and digestive tracts.
Thank you for joining me in a life full of memories as we review how our own Thanksgiving evolves over the years.
— Ken Bicha is a longtime Port Orchard resident, past president of the Port Orchard Eagles and a Port Orchard Man of the Year.
