Give Thanks, For Life Is Beautiful

Thursday, Nov. 24

          Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope all of you were able to give thanks and be happy with friends and family today, as I was able to do with my new AmeriCorps family.

          Our team was lucky and nabbed a spot helping at St. Louis’ Thanksgiving Day parade this morning. Beginning our day at a lovely 5am, we drove into downtown and were promptly assigned to the snowman balloon. Our 10 man team (our team leader and one other member did not participate) simply had to walk holding the giant balloon throughout the parade, sounds easy right? Nope. First, it was a very cold morning, which means the helium did not make the balloon float as well as usual. Second, there was a large downdraft from the building that pushed the balloon down into the ground. In the end, we ended up having to basically hold the balloon up above our heads; at one point we tried to let it fly on its own and half the team ended up getting squished under it. okay, so I know I just made that sound like a horrible time, but luckily we were all in a good mood that morning and it only ended up making it a hilarious walk through town. The teamwork we needed to get through also only brought us together more by the end of the parade.

Our Balloon!

          For Thanksgiving Day dinner, our sponsor was kind enough to get a local grocery store to provide our full meal! All we had to do was pick it up and throw it in the microwave as even the turkey was already cooked. After our 3pm dinner, our whole team snuggled up for a movie marathon. All in all, it was a wonderful day and I am so thankful for the friends I have made, my supportive family back home, and AmeriCorps for allowing me to take this great journey.