So many things to be thankful for, but most of all that Thanksgiving coma

FOR THE SAKE OF TOMORROW
by Ryan Collins
It’s the tryptophan – an amino acid present in turkey that gets me right after my Dallas Cowboys usually blow it on Thanksgiving. It’s a tradition I look forward to every year. It’s that sudden crash not long after dinner has concluded. Well, really two crashes if you consider the Cowboys and the tryptophan crash.
It’s an ever-relaxing comfortable slumber that overcomes all the worries in the world for a momentary glimpse. Most certainly one of the best times of the year. It’s an amazing time where nothing but being full and comfortable is the name of the game. Who could ask for more, really?
We’re so incredibly lucky in this country to have a day devoted to giving thanks to the things in life we may not take the time to recognize on a daily basis.
However, like most things, a controversy centers around the holiday and the possible negative connotations associated with it. I think if we look at it as a day where we can come together as a family and enjoy good food and even the occasional political conversation, there is no controversy at all.
As a county and a country this year, we have lots to be incredibly thankful for. If we look at the things we have coming in the next year, we have lots to be thankful for and an endless horizon to look forward to.
There are always the negatives to look at as well, but this time of year is about giving thanks for the things that we do have and truly being grateful for what we have.
We have been bestowed with the gift of having the first majority Navajo County Commission in the history of the state of Utah in this county.
We will be the first in the state to be able to implement long coming changes, as the rest of the state and country watch, many of them rooting for us and many against us.
It’s all a gift and something to be thankful for because we will be the ones who will live it. We all should be thankful we get the opportunity to try something new right here.
There will be the challenges that come with the things to be thankful for, but that is what makes all those good things even the better to relish.
As you and your family gather together to enjoy the holiday, even if it is just you and your dog and goldfish, there is something for all of us to truly be grateful for.
Even if we don’t see it right away and it takes some deep introspection to find, there is always something there that we may have overlooked. It may be the smallest things we take for granted, or it might be a huge blessing that you can easily see.
Either way, there is something for all of us to be grateful for, as the holiday season comes into full swing.
I can’t help but wonder what some of those Thanksgivings were like for the early settlers in San Juan County. What were their traditions, and what did they find to be grateful for in a time and land where they would have had to look hard for things to be thankful for this time of year?
We live in lavish luxury compared to the hardships they had to endure on a daily basis just for the right to survive to the next year. I’m certainly thankful we live in a time and age where there is indoor heating and plumbing and if we come down with a common cold, our lives are not in danger most of the time.
Then I think about what Thanksgiving (or merely the date) was like for the early Puebloans, or Anasazi, Navajo, Ute, and Hopi who have lived here over the centuries.
Were their struggles any more difficult than what we face today, or were things entirely different from life today? Was there a form of the Thanksgiving day crash in Mesa Verde, or a post-dinner game that took place?
Thanksgiving or the date has been celebrated here for thousands of years, and we will get the honor to add to that tradition this week.
We wish all of you the happiest and fullest Thanksgiving here at the San Juan Record. We are grateful that we have you as our readers. We hope you do not find your Thanksgiving day coma while reading this article, but if you do we sincerely apologize.