Some people see only negatives. They would look at this last year and say, 'Oh Anna, you are too busy, you have too many jobs and are always running around. And you got mugged — how horrible!' I prefer to be thankful that I am busy, and even more thankful that I survived a mugging.
There is always, always, always something to be thankful for. I am thankful that True Thai is doing well but more than anything else, I am thankful to all of you who sent me a get well card after my mugging. Your cards came at a time when I needed reassurance, and nothing is more reassuring than to learn that you are loved by others.
Six months ago I was writing notes to myself about this year's Thanksgiving post, but they were all about thanking my trainers for the new body they helped me to find locked up inside my old body. Thanks to Carla and others I'm more fit than I was when I came to this country years and years ago.
I cannot say that a mugging is no big deal, but being fit helped me to survive and recover from being beaten by a much larger person. There is more to surviving than just living through bad events, though. I was very depressed immediately after the mugging. Depressed that I had lost so much money, depressed that my fitness didn't make me a match for a mugger, depressed that I was a victim.
Then you started coming in and asking how I was feeling. Many of you left cards for me. More cards came in the mail and then still more cards. A TV station came to the restaurant. More people started reading this blog to get progress reports on my recovery. Altogether I received over 600 get well cards and more bouquets of flowers than I had gotten in my entire life before getting mugged.
Yes, this year Anna has much to be thankful for, but mostly I am thankful to all of you for your support and your love of Thai food. And somewhere I believe that my Mom and Great Grandmother Mai are looking down on all of us and smiling.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. I think this is the best holiday of the year, even if it is one I had never heard of before moving to America.
