A day to give gratitude
Spending time with family and friends.
Recently, I was scrolling through Instagram and I saw this post:
This upcoming federal holiday brings with it many complex feelings. Thursday offers a unique opportunity that many Americans can rarely afford: a day to rest; a day to give gratitude and thanks; and a day to serve and build community. It is also a day that perpetuates a romanticized myth that I know many educators spend a few precious classroom hours unpacking. If you are like me and did not learn the accurate and true history of the “first Thanksgiving” until well into your 20s, I highly recommend the National Museum of the American Indian webpage on “Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations,” which includes several age-appropriate lessons you can share with your young ones as well.
Yet, as the quote above reminds us, in reconciling past harm we must also choose how to move forward because forward is where we must go.
In recognition of this, I chose to spend Thursday in radical rest with my family. I am headed to Nome to spend the weekend with my father, spouse, and nine of our closest friends, where we will eat the food my mother taught me to make (as her mother taught her), share gratitude, laugh, love, and lift up one another. I give thanks for the health of my loved ones, for the comfort in which we live, and for the continued opportunity to serve as your State Senator.
It is seductive to get caught in the doom spiral that is today’s geopolitics and I do not make light of the suffering and pain many are experiencing across Alaska and the world right now. This hurt, fear, and frustration is not going away and I will do all I can to serve Alaska as authentically as I am able in the year to come. To best do that, it is time for me to recharge, recenter, and realign. I hope you are able to do the same.
Gratitude to you all - and I hope your turkey doesn’t burn, explode, or still have the giblets inside.
Sincerely,
Löki Gale Tobin (she/her)
(Pronounced: Lew-key)