Earth and Its Colors
The children will remind us what’s important at Thanksgiving.
The 7-year-old sitting on the exam table in her school uniform thoughtfully considered the answer to my question. Long ponytail down her back. Big, thoughtful blue eyes. Then she looked me straight in the eyes and answered. “The Earth,” she said. “And its colors.”
This week, I’ve been asking the children with whom I have contact if they can think of anything they’re thankful for. In the frenetic energy of the holidays, I love seeing them pause and consider their answers, taking my question so seriously.
In between conversations about their ear infections, strep throat, fevers, viral infections, and broken bones — the inconveniences of their young lives — they consider what means the most to them.
My mom. My dad. My family. My best friend, Skylar. My dog. My grandmother. Jack and Andrew, my friends. My mom. My mom. My mom. My cat. My sister. My brother. My dad. My family. My dad.
Some kids just point to the parent who brought them to see me in the pediatric office. Almost all of the children, as I began to notice over the last week, chose the people in their lives to be thankful for.
Not a single child said they were thankful for things. Not even an iPad. Not video games. Not their name-brand shoes or trendy outfit. Not a fancy house in a popular zip code or their parent’s expensive car.
There were a few who named experiences. One little boy talked about being thankful for the ability to play soccer. A teenage girl was really grateful that she got to go to a concert. One child was grateful to be going on a trip with her family for Thanksgiving.
Also, in the children’s answers, there were no buts. Not one child said, “I’m grateful for my mom, but she works too much.” Not one preschooler said, “I’m thankful for my dad but he forgot my snack.” No teen said, “I’m grateful for my parents but they yelled at me last night.”
One of the biggest blessings of my career is staying connected to humans as they grow from newborns to toddlers to children who then become teens and then young adults. Not yet beaten down by life and its adult stressors, kids know what really matters.
And so as this Thanksgiving rolls around and we gather in our imperfect families and social circles, with their quirks and irritations, perhaps we can take a pause from the inconveniences of our adult lives and ponder. What am I grateful for?
I would bet that, like my young patients, our answers would center around the people we love. None of the window dressings of our lives matter. It’s the people who make up our foundation and the experiences we have with them that make our lives complete.
And also, the simplicity of the Earth. And its colors.
The advice and opinions herein are by no means meant to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Please contact your personal physician, mental health provider or health care professional for medical advice. Opinions are my own.