Thanksgiving is almost here, a time when it’s good to think about the things we are truly grateful for. We live in such abundance these days that it’s easy to forget the things and people that make our existence so much smoother.
Like garbage collection. Every week when the garbage cans go on the curb, I wonder for a moment or two where the trash inside of them is going to end up. A landfill, obviously, but how can everyone on the planet be putting out a garbage can or two a week and we aren’t overflowing with trash?
It seems like there should be some evidence of all that garbage, but there isn’t. It’s taken away and we never see it again. Talk about blessings.
I’m not sure, nor do I care, where our local landfill is. I’m only happy it’s there and that it’s not my responsibility to haul our garbage to it.
Having regular garbage collection makes me happy for things like city planners who take care not only of garbage collection, but also ensure we get water to our houses so we can make coffee on demand and ditto hot showers.
I’m also grateful for businesses that have the courtesy to put garbage cans in their parking lots. Not that many do nowadays, which is understandable from a cost cutting point of view but annoying from a personal viewpoint, especially when you’d like to throw out fast food wrappers before you get home and avoid having to explain why you didn’t bring home Frosties for everyone.
Another entity I personally am grateful for is every single person who works in healthcare, from the people who help you make an appointment to the surgeon who performs your surgery.
I think most of us are rather squeamish types and I personally can’t imagine having a job that would require me to touch strangers all day long. I don’t know how dental hygienists can stand it. The fact that there are people who go into the healthcare field makes my aging arteries glow with gratitude.
How about the folks who run businesses and keep them open 24/7 for the rest of us to dash in and grab a jar of maraschino cherries at 10 p.m.? The thought of the amount of work and scheduling and dealing with absentee employees that must go into owning or managing a business is enough to make the rest of us glad we’re 9-5ers.
Thank goodness there are others who want to keep the world spinning because if it was up to people like me, well, let’s just say no one would be buying anything after 5 p.m..
I’m also grateful for the people who keep businesses, libraries, schools and sporting arenas clean. No one notices when things are neat and tidy, but everyone notices when things are a mess. While you can get away with it at home, using a public restroom in an airport makes you mighty appreciative of the cleaning crew.
On the homefront, I’m grateful for dishwashers, microwaves and anything else that comes with a warranty. Especially air conditioners in August and furnaces in January. Hearing the hum of your appliances gives a feeling of security like no other.
There are plenty of things to worry about in today’s world, but there are also so many things to be grateful for. Most of those things involve not-always-visible people who make the rest of our lives a little easier.
Many of those people will probably be working on Thanksgiving at gas stations, emergency rooms, and grocery stores. So if you run into a grocery store on Thursday to pick up some instant mashed potatoes, maybe take a second to say Happy Thanksgiving to the clerk.
And thank them for keeping things running for the rest of us.
Nell Musolf is a freelance writer based in Mankato. She can be reached at nmusolf@gmail.com.