When I was a kid, sweet potatoes and yams disgusted me. The smell, the
taste, made me gag. I can still remember as a kid, celebrating the
holidays and someone, maybe my Grandad would ask for someone to pass the
sweet potatoes.
I remember the hustle and bustle of the meal, and always thinking 'this
is old people food.'
Waldorff salad. It had nuts in it. HELLO! Does anyone here realize I
am a kid and nuts and yams and stuff are gross!?
Now I'm 40.
And I like sweet potatoes.
I like them all sugary like at Thanksgiving. I like them sliced and
roasted. I like them mashed. I like them made into chips or fries.
It happened in the last 2 years. Something switched and I liked them.
I moved to a country where there are several dozen species of sweet
potatoes, and still I hated them. I thought it was God's sense of humor
that he sent me to a world full of sweet potatoes.
As I reflect on Thanksgiving, I think about the progression of change.
I think about how you change over time and things you once disliked, you
can learn to like.
There is a progression in making a place your home as well. This last
year we've gone through a bit of transition.
I have never been a very satisfied person. I've always wanted to be
more this, or more that. Work harder at this or longer at that. I've
never been able to sit still for a period of time and just be content,
and satisfied.
I can be happy, and I can sit still. But being still in my mind, was
always a challenge.
A year ago I sat in my living room and was still, and content.
That's saying something.
And this year, this holiday season, even though we've had an absolutely
crazy year... I can be still and content.
I think about how I went from not liking sweet potatoes to liking them.
I think about how I went from being unrestful, to content.
It makes me thankful to God.
