Giving Thanks

Disney's Monsters on Ice is coming to town soon. While driving to work today, I got to wondering if I shouldn't buy tickets for the kids to take in this psuedo-cultural extravaganza. Sure, my 5 year old would like it, but would it just be another one of mom's lame ideas in the eyes of my 10 year old?

My mom took my younger sister to see Sesame Street on Ice when she was 5 and I was 10. I can't remember if my mom gave me the option of going, but I'm sure I would have declined in an ungrateful and disdainful fashion if she had offered.

I did, however, ask my little sister to say hi to Ernie for me. Bless her soul she did. I think that it speaks volumes about what a great sister she is. When given the great honour of shaking hands with Ernie, she used the moment to relay my message rather than to deliver her own. She's still like that. Maybe it's something about being the youngest sister, because my daughter's like that too.

Living in my own suburban life, and all its consumer ideals, I often overlook that special quality she has to give of herself in such a generous manner. Sometimes I'm even a bit critical of her selflessness. She shouldn't be so trusting and naive, I've thought. She shouldn't let those loser friends of hers crash on her couch and eat her food without paying her a dime, I've said.

She lives a very different life than me on a skihill in Banff. She hasn't let herself be shakled by the golden handcuffs of the North American consumer lifestyle. She does something she loves and doesn't worry about all the rest of the crap.

She makes a lot less than my husband or I do, yet I'm sure that if we were walking down the street and came across a homeless person, she would be more likely to give him/her more than I would. Which is something, considering how little she has.

So, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday of our neighbors to the south, I say today - I love you, sis. I think you have a beautiful spirit and a warm and generous heart. And while you might sometimes drive me absolutely crazy, I give thanks for who you are every day.

If I didn't say it 25 years ago, thank you for saying hi to Ernie for me. Maybe Benjy will say hi to Mike Wazowski for Frankie, too.