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| Giving Thanks (Photo credit: mRio) |
Dear Friend,
I just wanted to say thanks.
As I wrapped up my Council work for this week and started to focus on Thanksgiving, I started thinking about how grateful I am for so many things and what this holiday means for me.
My mother especially loved Thanksgiving. She made the day special for our family. Days before she would prepare and bake pumpkin pies. On Thanksgiving day, she would get up at 6 am to prepare the turkey and stuffing. Then over the course of hours she would transform the house with the warmth of smells of a feast that would provide left-overs for a week. To this day, a Thanksgiving isn't complete without her recipes for lima beans, baby onions and candied yams. (I skip the giblet dressing...sorry Mom).
I remember my first Thanksgiving away from home when I worked in Washington, D.C. and the kindness of relatives of a co-worker who took me in to their crowded apartment and shared their meal and the excitement of their young children who decorated the table with brightly colored tracings of their hands which make funny looking turkeys.
But the very best memory is the year I celebrated my first Thanksgiving as a mom. As Flo and I expanded our family to include three children, it just got better and better. More hectic and exhausting but wouldn't trade it for anything else.
There are so many things for which to be thankful. Good friends. Good health. A great opportunity to teach at CSULB. And I'm still thankful I have the ability to play the guitar with friends.
I am especially thankful for the chance to serve on City Council these past seven years and to try and make my neighborhoods safer and cleaner and our local government more open and responsive .
But I didn't do it alone. With the help of outstanding city employees and involved residents we were able to make these changes happen.
I want to extend a special thanks to the many people who call, email or talk to me when they see me out and around Long Beach and who give me advice or their opinions on the issues facing Long Beach. Thank you. Your support, kind words and guidance are much appreciated.
So with much gratitude, I wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving.
Gerrie Schipske
