Not Just Another Day

It was the fourth Thursday in November, and a chill was in the air.  The leaves had changed, and the trees were already bare in some cases, awaiting the cold winter months ahead.  It was a school day.  It was a work day.  It was just another day in Switzerland.  But it wasn’t just another day for us Americans…it was Thanksgiving.

Last year was the first year that we spent Thanksgiving in Switzerland.  It was a surreal day because instead of attending the local high school football game in the morning, I dropped the kids off at school.  Instead of spending the day with family, I ran errands and cleaned.  Instead of having turkey, we ate cheeseburgers at a restaurant.  It was another day in Switzerland, but it wasn’t for us.

The kids are off from school this year, and my Mom is visiting.  We plan to have a Thanksgiving family dinner tonight with turkey and our favorite side dishes.  (Well, at least some)  The day feels more like it should.  Like it has been for 39 years of my life.  In this sense, it has made me think more about America.  The political climate and recent election have been a topic worldwide, including here, but there is something more to my thoughts.  They are less about the toxic political environment and more about the American culture.  Our history. Our country.  Our people.

I spent the day yesterday with three other parents in my son’s kindergarten class, talking about America and what it means to be thankful.  This is a class where, out of 17 children, nine different countries are represented, with only a handful of Americans.  This class is where the concept of calling yourself a citizen of a country that is not your nationality is confusing.  This is a kindergarten class where the American ideals came alive again for me yesterday.  For it brought to life the greatness of a country, which I am thankful for today.

Over almost two years of countless discussions with folks from around the world, two aspects of America have come to the surface for me.  Two aspects that, when put in a broader context, help remind me of the audacious hope that we Americans hold onto.  The daring ideals and aspirations that boldly suggest that people who don’t look like each other, sound like each other, come from the same places, can unite and live peacefully under one republic.  Is it perfect?  No.  Is it messy? Yes.  Is it filled with imperfect people who have done, who do, and will continue to do bad things?  Absolutely.  Is it filled with people, maybe even the same people who have done bad things, who do extraordinary things and achieve greatness?  Yes.  This American experiment is ongoing.  It is bold.  And these two reminders came to life in a kindergarten class in Switzerland.

1. When speaking to others from countries that span the globe, you quickly realize how young America is. You recognize that our history, culture, and understanding of self in relation to a world with deeper roots is noticeably different. When you juxtapose this reality with a kindergarten class filled with children coming to see themselves in relation to others, we see a beautiful work of art unfolding in front of us.  We see the distinct act of learning just who you are as an individual while also learning what it means to be in a community.  We see the excitement of experimenting, learning new things, and becoming more than what you thought you could be.  And maybe the most remarkable thing we see is that this learning thing is a process.  It is a process that takes time.  This is the American process.  It is a relatively young process in relation to the world. Still, its foundation has given us the backbone to achieve greatness, explore horizons, challenge norms that need to be challenged, and dream about things that have never been dreamt about.  As Americans, let us be thankful today for having the zeal, energy, and excitement to learn, grow, and achieve, much like the energy of a child who can’t sit still on the carpet for storytime.  It is contagious and exciting and should give us the same “ants in our pants” as we continue on this American story together.
2. As I mentioned, calling yourself a citizen of a country that is not your nationality is extraordinary. It is astonishing.  It is strange, especially to those from virtually every other country.  This kindergarten class has kids from Germany.  They are Germans.  It has kids from India, Italy, Ireland, Israel, etc., and they are all where they come from (the Irish are from Ireland, and the Italians are from Italy).  And then there are the Americans.  My son is Irish and German, yet he is an American.  This subtleness is easy to overlook but remarkable if you think about the outcomes.  In this class, if you are German, you come from Germany, which has borders.  When you say that you’re Irish, you come from Ireland, where there are borders.  When you come from America, you are both of those things within yourself, and you live next to others who are the same.  No borders.  No armies to defend your nationality. There are no economic systems to up here to.  You live with, go to school with, play sports with, mourn with, and vote for those who are different.  This is truly astonishing and taken for granted by most Americans because this is who we are.  This is our reality that has become the model of what it means to co-exist.  Let us be very thankful for this melting pot we call America.  Let us be grateful for the beautiful messiness that comes from figuring out how to do it better (as we are witnessing daily in the news right now).  And let us be thankful for being, by nature, the model for living in peace with those who usually would be across borders but instead live across the street.

This American ideal is an experiment that my son’s kindergarten class replicates daily in their little classroom.  An experiment that is extremely hard but working.  And an experiment involving laughter, tears, meltdowns, achievements, and friendship.  This is my son’s kindergarten classroom.  This is America.

And that is something to be thankful for especially on this day that is not just another day…

It is Thanksgiving.