So many reasons to give thanks

On this Thanksgiving Day in 2012, I feel not only very pregnant with an active and (from all indications) healthy fetus, but I am pregnant with much good fortune. Although my life is far from perfect, I know that it suits me and my so-called problems are manageable, particularly when I think about them in juxtaposition with the legitimate hardship and challenges facing so many others in America and around the world. The opportunity to give thanks should not only be about counting one's blessings but also about thinking creatively and with generosity through the myriad of ways to pay forward one's good fortune. Whether it be through volunteering, through monetary or material donation, through kindness, or through key moments of empathetic exchange with others, there are very many avenues through which to do just that.

I love this holiday for a bunch of reasons that I've counted in previous posts. But to reiterate, I love that Thanksgiving is a secular national holiday. If we discount Black Friday's growing encroachment, it's not at all about material acquisition (more on that tomorrow). Thanksgiving also involves an inordinate amount of food, side dishes, and desserts. But most of all, it encourages people to linger in the space of gratitude for longer than they would otherwise. And for a lot of us, that practice of giving thanks gets ritualized and shared around the table with loved ones. Since I was a child my family has been in the habit of going around the room and talking about the aspects of life for which we're grateful.

This year I am so thankful for my loved ones who have been incredibly enthusiastic and supportive of this new family-friendly venture that my partner and I have decided to pursue. I am thankful to be adequately insured and have access to capable medical care. I am thankful for my job and for understanding coworkers (who treat me and my impending maternity leave as something to celebrate rather than be burdened from). I am thankful for my students who not only motivate me to want to learn more, try harder, be better, etc., but who have been very sweet and caring in response to my "delicate' condition. I am thankful for my partner who is as kind, generous, supportive, and loving as he is hilarious, whip-smart, and hardworking. I am thankful for our parents who will give our child a grandparenting experience 6-persons strong! As someone who grew up knowing only one of her grandparents, it is not lost on my how unique and lucky she'll be. I am thankful for so much more than I can articulate in such a confined writerly space. 

Most of the time I believe that the world could use more gratitude and more hefty helpings of empathy. But on this particular holiday it feels as if we collectively come a bit closer to reaching our "thankful" and reflective potential. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!

Here are some organizations that do a lot of good locally:

Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh
Family House
Women and Girls Foundation
Blackburn Center Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
Pittsburgh Promise
The Pittsburgh Foundation

Occupy Gratitude

Although this is a little belated, I still wanted to wish everyone in the US a Happy Thanksgiving. Despite this holiday's complicated history, it is among my favorites because it reminds people to count their blessings and embrace the good rather than dwell on the lackluster or sub-par. I need this reminder (don't we all?) because it is much more commonplace and accepted to be hard on ourselves. To mire our accomplishments and triumphs with caveats and qualifiers about how "it would be even better if..."

For me, Thanksgiving is about not just recognizing but relishing the good, whatever that may be. It is about acknowledging privileges, good fortunes, and embarrassments of riches to remind ourselves that we don't need to be the richest, smartest, prettiest, best, etc. to still be among the lucky. Despite prevailing ideologies, this world doesn't have to be about perpetual, metaphoric competition. And in thinking about the goodness in our lives we gain perspective because although the world doesn't have to be a competition, there are people for whom struggle is an understatement. While I might dislike many of the competitive elements of American culture, that does not mean that I accept the ever-worsening disparities that exist within it, making life immensely harder for the majority and easier for a narrowing "lucky" minority.

Some US statistics from the Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty:
The facts are simple...

• Income inequality is extreme and increasing: The top 1% of Americans control nearly a quarter of all the country's income, the highest share controlled by the top 1% since 1928.
• The U.S. is exceptionally unequal: The U.S. ranks #3 among all the advanced economies in the amount of income inequality.
• The poverty rate is high: The U.S. poverty rate, according to the new Supplemental Poverty Measure, is estimated at 15.7 percent. The official poverty rate stands at 15.1 percent. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that 14.5 percent of all households were "food insecure" in 2010 (which means that at least some household members didn't have access to enough food for an "active, healthy life").
• The unemployment rate is high: The U.S. unemployment rate for August is 9.1 percent. The employment-to-population ratio, which was 58.2 percent in August, is over 5 percentage points lower than just five years ago.

In these troubled times the gap between the haves and the have nots keeps widening. Real wages have decreased as inflation has increased. Locally, nationally, and globally economic challenges seem insurmountable. Wealth continues to concentrate among that narrowing sliver of the most fortunate. Now more than ever it makes sense to count our blessings. And in doing I cannot help but want to work creatively and actively toward diminishing the economic and social injustices of such ever-widening inequities. I believe that there should be a Happy Thanksgiving for all, not just for some. And I truly hope yours was great! Thank you for reading.

Pittsburgh Shopping Event: Fashion for Food!

Attention all Pittsburgh readers! If you are looking for some stylish gifts or just eager to treat yourself in the name of a good cause, please consider attending the Fashion for Food charity event and fashion show. It will benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank which is among my favorite local organizations. The event will be held at the Union Project in East Liberty on Monday, December 6th, 2010 from 7-9pm. Local vintage shops, Crazy Hot Clothes, Red Pop Shop, and Daffodil Vintage will be featuring and selling their most fabulous, exclusive, one of a kind pieces! Many of the items for sale are not currently available on their sites so come check out what is new and shop in a way that gives back to the community!

Giving Thanks

This year I feel particularly grateful for so much. Here is a list that is by no means comprehensive:

*The health and wellness of my immediate family. I feel so fortunate for that and my heart aches with empathy for those facing serious illnesses and health challenges within theirs. 
*Chris, to whom I wrote a love letter earlier this week and with whom I hope to be, ad infinitum.

*Related, my loved ones. All those family members and friends who physically and/or spiritually enveloped Chris and me as we declared our commitment to each other in marriage just a few weeks ago.
*Speck the dog who brings joy to my life every day with her little face.

 
*The wheels of social progression. I personally believe that I stand on the shoulders of feminist women who came before me in the fight against sexism. There's still work to do but I am grateful for the incredible amount of headway made in the last 100 years.
*The cocktail of luck, timing, and labor that yielded a job despite all odds (literally).
*Perspective and how it humbles and challenges me to be a better, more thoughtful person.
*The technological developments that make distance less daunting for families and couples. My parents marveled over how exciting it was to Skype with Chris who was in St. Barths this week for Thanksgiving. And it reminded me of how fortunate we are to have economic and technological access to such an invention.
*The ability to give back. Whether it is through donations of time, labor, and/or finances, it serves an important reminder to keep a reasonable perspective, particularly when it comes to one's own privileges. Rather than buying something superfluous for myself, I can take those funds and put them into charities or other giving opportunities. This week my university is collecting toys and clothing from the wishlists of local children who participate in the Head Start program. I chose one boy and one girl, both four years old, and had such fun shopping for them.  Here are some of the gifts:

 

*The reminder that so many are less fortunate due to the extreme privilege disparities (economic and otherwise) that exist in the United States and all over the globe. And the desire to work to change or ameliorate those disparities in ways both small and large.

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

Pittsburghers: Clothing Swap Alert!

For Pittsburgh area readers, an event is impending that benefits a great cause and provides an opportunity for clothes-hunting and do-gooding. The Redd Up Thread Up is a new kind of clothing swap that promises to be very organized and exciting. The money and items raised by the event will benefit the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. WYEP is co-presenting the event which will occur in their space on November 6th, from 12-5pm. To learn about donation times and instructions, please go here.

Scenes from a Wedding Themed Benefit

On Saturday, one week prior to the wedding, Chris and I organized a benefit for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. We wish to thank the organization for the work that they do for people and families in need, in western PA. Specifically, Josh was integral to the event's success. He brought literature and collected/delivered the donated food. He also spoke convincingly about the good this organization does. Their overhead is very minimal and because they can purchase food whole sale, a $5 donation can provide an amount of food that costs three-four times that in a grocery store. That morning he distributed 2000 pounds of food to over 300 families in Braddock, PA.

Thanks to our friends' talent and generosity, we had a number of bands play: Onodrim, Slices, and Allies. Thanks to the kindness of a few local businesses, Spak Brothers Pizza, Dreaming Ant, Mind Cure Records, Sirocco Designs Jewelry, Alicia Fronczek Yoga, and The Works Printing/Lynn Nelson, we had a number of prizes toward the raffle. And our friend Jenny of Modern Formations Gallery donated her beautiful space to host the event! It was successful in raising money and food donations for a charity we really believe in.

And Chris and I are matching the funds raised at the benefit, in lieu of buying elaborate favors for our guests. We hope the cookie table, the jordan almonds, and chocolates will suffice as material symbols of our gratitude.

I wore a repeat outfit. The dress is from the BCBG outlet and it was also my engagement dinner dress. Something about the ivory and gold threading make me think "bridal."

Wedding Annals: Giving Back

In the spirit of acknowledging the great privilege it is to throw a wedding, and with a desire to give back to a community that has provided the backdrop for our relationship, Chris and I decided to organize a benefit concert. The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is an organization with an objective to combat local hunger. What is most impressive is their ability to do so in a most efficient way. Their operating costs are minimal compared to the aid and services they provide to families and individuals in need.

Theirs is a cause we have supported for years and one that we hope transcends political ideology. We chose it because food has been central to our coupling. So many of our memories from travel and from our early courtship involve food we have cooked and food we have shared.  Hunger is an issue that we hope will not divide or offend our wedding guests, who come from a variety of ideological perspectives. With information about the Food Bank and website, our guests will receive a modest but classic favor of jordan almonds (in addition to being invited to indulge in our Pittsburgh cookie table, complete with take home boxes) because we decided to utilize some of those funds for this donation.

The benefit will occur on the Saturday a week before the wedding. Our dear friends who are members of local bands have generously agreed to perform. Other friends who work for the organization will be in attendance to speak about the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Admission is $6 or $4 with a bag of canned goods. Everyone is welcome. Hope to see you there!