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The northwest is 2)blanketed by snow, with several inches falling last night. Eager to avoid the mess that occurred a couple years ago when, out of environmental extremism, Seattle refused to salt its steep downtown streets, paralyzing the city, 3)snowplowing, sanding and salting commenced immediately. Our daughter, fearing difficulty getting to work in her 4)teeny car, was set to 5)sleep over at our house, which is much closer than hers to her job.
Needless to say, for a mom still afflicted with the dreaded 6)Empty Nest Syndrome since our son went off to study abroad this September, I was thrilled to have an evening of movies, 7)Bananagrams and face time chat, rather than merely the online kind. With the wind whipping outside, my daughter commented as we sorted our Bananagrams 8)tiles that she was glad we still had electricity. That’s when the lights went off. My next words: “Thanks, sweetie.”
Thanksgiving gains a new item for gratitude when you realize just how dependent we are on electricity. And on a whole lot more.
I got out some candles and the 9)hand-crank emergency lantern. My husband 10)relished this opportunity to use his 11)wind-up flashlight. He brought in an armful of firewood since our furnace could no longer shield us from the 26-degree weather outside. I was just thinking that this could be a fun adventure when my daughter’s boyfriend called. He was at his parents’ home a few blocks away from us. “What? You’ve lost power? We’ve still got ours; why don’t you come over here?” he suggested. His parents, too, were recent empty-nesters, and had plenty of spare bedrooms. My husband would 12)have none of it. Abandon our home to darkness and snow? Not under his 13)macho watch.
The steep driveway at the parents’ house 14)precluded boyfriend’s driving to pick up our daughter, so my 15)hunky husband insisted he walk her through the darkness to meet him. “Stay home,” he commanded me. “I don’t want you out in this.” What if on his solo return, he slipped, fell and crushed his cell phone, and was left to be 16)frostbitten in the snow? After the usual male-female debate, the three of us set out in the 17)hazy moonlight through a forest, our boots 18)crunching the virgin snow. Only 19)meager flashlights lit our footsteps. The 20)eerie stillness was punctuated by gusts 21)whirring through 22)firs. The cold was 23)invigorating, the snow brightening deep-laden boughs. I sniffled with the chill; my husband’s tree branch walking stick struck the earthen path in rhythmic 24)accompaniment. Poetic experience.
How to arise on time tomorrow, when it’s too dark to read a wristwatch, and the clock radio’s blank? Food’s colder on the counter than in the fridge. Candle wax drips on floor and counter; can’t read by its 25)flickering light. Sitting in near-dark in a down coat, gloves and high boots, watching breath form steam. The phone company recording says power should be restored at 3 am. Nothing to do but go to sleep. On this Thanksgiving eve, I marvel at how spoiled we are. It has not been that long since every nighttime brought the end to most productive activities. It was as different as night and day; now both 26)meld into 24-hour florescent-lit supermarkets where your choice of cereals spans four rows of products, thirty feet long. Where we are reachable at all times, by phone, text, Skype, and if we choose, our location anywhere on earth can be 27)pinpointed and broadcast, moving here-to-there. We can watch any television program at any time while in bed, at a coffee house, even while riding a bus. We can take pictures and video and post them for the world to see, and replay, and distort, and put 28)auto-tune to, each person with potential for fame gone 29)viral.
What has this done? Unfortunately, it’s made us impatient and selfish. If the Internet’s down, we get indignant. If we have to wait in line, we 30)fume and call a manager. We no longer take responsibility for what 31)befalls us. Every accident is someone else’s fault and that someone will be 32)sued and have to pay. All this causes stress and worry and makes us angry. Anger is the opposite of happiness. The 33)antidote to anger is gratitude. Gratitude is actually a 34)demanding, complex emotion that requires self-reflection, the ability to admit that one is dependent upon the help of others, and the humility to realize one’s own limitations.
Our culture pushes us toward arrogance, 35)narcissism, instant gratification and materialism, as opposed to the 36)abstracts of kindness and appreciation. With an iPhone in your hand, you control the world; you’re powerful. That is, until the electricity goes out. Without your charger, without battery, without light or heat, you realize your true size and true dependence. Not just on the electric company, but on the Power who determines your continued existence, and the people who make it worthwhile.
I was so thankful at 3 am, awakened by lights blazing in the house, clock numbers by my bed flashing, and the furnace 37)whooshing on. The thermometer outside reads 16 degrees at the moment, but I don’t take for granted being warm. It’s the perfect time to remember we’re all vulnerable, interconnected, and small, with so many wonders and miracles to enjoy. And for which to give thanks.
西北大地一片银装素裹，光是昨晚就下了几英寸厚的雪。几年前，出于极端环保主义，西雅图拒绝使用盐去融化街市陡坡上的积雪，结果造成整个城市处于瘫痪状态。这次，为了避免这种混乱，人们立即对积雪采取了扫雪、填沙和撒盐的措施。我们的女儿，担心开她自己的小汽车去上班会有困难，所以准备在我们这里过夜，因为比起她的住所，我们这里离她上班的地方要近得多。
今年九月，儿子出国留学了，可怕的空巢症候群从此挥之不去。对于我这样一位妈妈来说，女儿能在家里过夜自然是件兴奋的事情，因为晚上我们可以一起看电影，玩《香蕉拼字》游戏，还能面对面聊天，而不只是隔着电脑上网闲聊。外面的风呼呼作响，我们整理着《香蕉拼字》游戏牌，女儿说很高兴家里的供电依然正常。她的话刚说完，所有的灯都灭了。我接话道：“谢谢，亲爱的。”
当你意识到我们对电力，还有对其他更多事物的依赖程度时，感恩节便又多了几项值得感恩的事情。
我找来了一些蜡烛和手摇应急灯。我丈夫很开心有机会让他的发条式手电筒派上用场。由于我们的炉子无法帮我们抵御外面26华氏度（约零下3.3摄氏度）的天气，所以他抱进来一大捆柴火。我正在想，这次停电可能是一次有趣的冒险经历，这时我女儿的男朋友打电话过来了。他当时在他父母家，离我们只有几个街区。“什么？你们那停电了？我们这还有电，要不你们来我们这里吧？”他建议道。他的父母最近也成了空巢老人，所以家里有许多空余的卧室。但我丈夫不愿意去他们那边。把我们自己的家舍弃于暗夜和积雪中不管吗？这与他的男子气概不相符。
女儿男友父母家的车道太陡，所以他无法驾车来接女儿。于是，我那身材魁梧的丈夫坚持要在漆黑的夜色中亲自把女儿护送过去。“呆在家里，”他命令我道，“我不希望你在这样的天气下出门。”如果他一个人回来的路上，滑倒了或摔倒了，压坏了手机，困在积雪中受霜冻之苦怎么办？在一场惯常的男女争辩之后，我们三个人在朦胧的月光下出发了。我们穿过一片森林，脚上的靴子踩着刚刚落下的雪花，发出嘎吱嘎吱的声响。只有微弱的手电筒光照亮我们的脚步。穿过冷杉的呼呼风声不时打断那令人不安的寂静。严寒加剧，新雪使负重的树枝愈加明亮了。我在凛冽的寒气中吸着鼻子。我丈夫用树枝当拐杖，有节奏地敲着脚下的路。真是一种充满诗意的经历！
当光线太暗看不清手表而闹钟收音机又不能使用的情况下，明天要怎样才能按时起床？食品放在桌面上比放在冰箱里更冷冻。融化的蜡烛滴在地板和桌面上，在那闪烁的烛光下根本看不了书。在几近黑暗的地方坐下来，裹着羽绒外套，带着手套，穿着高筒靴，看着自己呼出的气体变成水蒸汽。电话公司的录音通知说，凌晨3点会恢复供电。除了睡觉，什么也做不了。今年的感恩节前夕，我惊叹于我们真的被宠坏了。人类结束黑暗的时间还没有太久。那时候，夜晚的到来就意味着大部分有生产力的活动必须得结束；白天和夜晚有着天壤之别；现在白天和黑夜都融为一体了，超市24小时都开着荧光灯，仅仅是供你选择的谷类食品就占据了4大排货架，总长30英尺。通过电话、短信、网络电话，我们可以随时与外界联系。而且，只要我们愿意，我们足迹所到之处——地球上的任何一个位置，都可以被精确地锁定和播报。无论是在床上，还是在咖啡馆，甚至是在巴士上，我们都可以随时收看任何电视节目。我们可以拍照录像，并将其发布出去让全世界的人都看到，还可以对其进行重播、恶搞，并设置自动调音，这样一来，每个人都有一夜成名的可能。
这一切究竟带来了什么？不幸的是，这使我们变得急躁和自私。如果断网了，我们会感到愤慨。如果不得不排队等候，我们会怒火中烧并要求见经理。我们不再对发生在自己身上的事故负责。每起事故都是别人的错，别人会被起诉，为之付出代价。这一切导致了压力和忧虑，使我们感到愤怒。愤怒是幸福的对立面。而愤怒的解毒剂是感恩。感恩实际上是一种高要求的复杂情感，需要自我反思、需要敢于承认自己依赖于他人帮助的事实，并能谦逊地意识到自身的局限性。
我们的文化使得我们傲慢自大、自我陶醉、崇尚即时满足和物质主义，这与善良和赞赏的理念截然相反。一部苹果手机在手，你可以控制整个世界，你就是强者。也就是说，直到停电之前你都是强大的。如果没有充电器、没有电池、没有光和热，你会意识到自己真正的份量，认识到自己真正依赖的是什么。你依赖的不只是电力公司，还依赖让你赖以生存的力量和那些让其变得有价值的人们。
凌晨3点，一屋的灯具重放光亮，我醒了过来，时钟的数字在我的床边闪烁，电炉嘶嘶地启动了，对此我无比感激。此刻，温度计显示户外温度为16华氏度（约零下8.9摄氏度），但现在，我不再理所当然地认为自己应该得到温暖。这是一个最好的时刻让我们记住：每个人都是脆弱的，都是相联互依的，都是渺小的，我们享有如此之多的奇迹，对于这些奇迹我们应该心怀感恩。
Needless to say, for a mom still afflicted with the dreaded 6)Empty Nest Syndrome since our son went off to study abroad this September, I was thrilled to have an evening of movies, 7)Bananagrams and face time chat, rather than merely the online kind. With the wind whipping outside, my daughter commented as we sorted our Bananagrams 8)tiles that she was glad we still had electricity. That’s when the lights went off. My next words: “Thanks, sweetie.”
Thanksgiving gains a new item for gratitude when you realize just how dependent we are on electricity. And on a whole lot more.
I got out some candles and the 9)hand-crank emergency lantern. My husband 10)relished this opportunity to use his 11)wind-up flashlight. He brought in an armful of firewood since our furnace could no longer shield us from the 26-degree weather outside. I was just thinking that this could be a fun adventure when my daughter’s boyfriend called. He was at his parents’ home a few blocks away from us. “What? You’ve lost power? We’ve still got ours; why don’t you come over here?” he suggested. His parents, too, were recent empty-nesters, and had plenty of spare bedrooms. My husband would 12)have none of it. Abandon our home to darkness and snow? Not under his 13)macho watch.
The steep driveway at the parents’ house 14)precluded boyfriend’s driving to pick up our daughter, so my 15)hunky husband insisted he walk her through the darkness to meet him. “Stay home,” he commanded me. “I don’t want you out in this.” What if on his solo return, he slipped, fell and crushed his cell phone, and was left to be 16)frostbitten in the snow? After the usual male-female debate, the three of us set out in the 17)hazy moonlight through a forest, our boots 18)crunching the virgin snow. Only 19)meager flashlights lit our footsteps. The 20)eerie stillness was punctuated by gusts 21)whirring through 22)firs. The cold was 23)invigorating, the snow brightening deep-laden boughs. I sniffled with the chill; my husband’s tree branch walking stick struck the earthen path in rhythmic 24)accompaniment. Poetic experience.
How to arise on time tomorrow, when it’s too dark to read a wristwatch, and the clock radio’s blank? Food’s colder on the counter than in the fridge. Candle wax drips on floor and counter; can’t read by its 25)flickering light. Sitting in near-dark in a down coat, gloves and high boots, watching breath form steam. The phone company recording says power should be restored at 3 am. Nothing to do but go to sleep. On this Thanksgiving eve, I marvel at how spoiled we are. It has not been that long since every nighttime brought the end to most productive activities. It was as different as night and day; now both 26)meld into 24-hour florescent-lit supermarkets where your choice of cereals spans four rows of products, thirty feet long. Where we are reachable at all times, by phone, text, Skype, and if we choose, our location anywhere on earth can be 27)pinpointed and broadcast, moving here-to-there. We can watch any television program at any time while in bed, at a coffee house, even while riding a bus. We can take pictures and video and post them for the world to see, and replay, and distort, and put 28)auto-tune to, each person with potential for fame gone 29)viral.
What has this done? Unfortunately, it’s made us impatient and selfish. If the Internet’s down, we get indignant. If we have to wait in line, we 30)fume and call a manager. We no longer take responsibility for what 31)befalls us. Every accident is someone else’s fault and that someone will be 32)sued and have to pay. All this causes stress and worry and makes us angry. Anger is the opposite of happiness. The 33)antidote to anger is gratitude. Gratitude is actually a 34)demanding, complex emotion that requires self-reflection, the ability to admit that one is dependent upon the help of others, and the humility to realize one’s own limitations.
Our culture pushes us toward arrogance, 35)narcissism, instant gratification and materialism, as opposed to the 36)abstracts of kindness and appreciation. With an iPhone in your hand, you control the world; you’re powerful. That is, until the electricity goes out. Without your charger, without battery, without light or heat, you realize your true size and true dependence. Not just on the electric company, but on the Power who determines your continued existence, and the people who make it worthwhile.
I was so thankful at 3 am, awakened by lights blazing in the house, clock numbers by my bed flashing, and the furnace 37)whooshing on. The thermometer outside reads 16 degrees at the moment, but I don’t take for granted being warm. It’s the perfect time to remember we’re all vulnerable, interconnected, and small, with so many wonders and miracles to enjoy. And for which to give thanks.
西北大地一片银装素裹，光是昨晚就下了几英寸厚的雪。几年前，出于极端环保主义，西雅图拒绝使用盐去融化街市陡坡上的积雪，结果造成整个城市处于瘫痪状态。这次，为了避免这种混乱，人们立即对积雪采取了扫雪、填沙和撒盐的措施。我们的女儿，担心开她自己的小汽车去上班会有困难，所以准备在我们这里过夜，因为比起她的住所，我们这里离她上班的地方要近得多。
今年九月，儿子出国留学了，可怕的空巢症候群从此挥之不去。对于我这样一位妈妈来说，女儿能在家里过夜自然是件兴奋的事情，因为晚上我们可以一起看电影，玩《香蕉拼字》游戏，还能面对面聊天，而不只是隔着电脑上网闲聊。外面的风呼呼作响，我们整理着《香蕉拼字》游戏牌，女儿说很高兴家里的供电依然正常。她的话刚说完，所有的灯都灭了。我接话道：“谢谢，亲爱的。”
当你意识到我们对电力，还有对其他更多事物的依赖程度时，感恩节便又多了几项值得感恩的事情。
我找来了一些蜡烛和手摇应急灯。我丈夫很开心有机会让他的发条式手电筒派上用场。由于我们的炉子无法帮我们抵御外面26华氏度（约零下3.3摄氏度）的天气，所以他抱进来一大捆柴火。我正在想，这次停电可能是一次有趣的冒险经历，这时我女儿的男朋友打电话过来了。他当时在他父母家，离我们只有几个街区。“什么？你们那停电了？我们这还有电，要不你们来我们这里吧？”他建议道。他的父母最近也成了空巢老人，所以家里有许多空余的卧室。但我丈夫不愿意去他们那边。把我们自己的家舍弃于暗夜和积雪中不管吗？这与他的男子气概不相符。
女儿男友父母家的车道太陡，所以他无法驾车来接女儿。于是，我那身材魁梧的丈夫坚持要在漆黑的夜色中亲自把女儿护送过去。“呆在家里，”他命令我道，“我不希望你在这样的天气下出门。”如果他一个人回来的路上，滑倒了或摔倒了，压坏了手机，困在积雪中受霜冻之苦怎么办？在一场惯常的男女争辩之后，我们三个人在朦胧的月光下出发了。我们穿过一片森林，脚上的靴子踩着刚刚落下的雪花，发出嘎吱嘎吱的声响。只有微弱的手电筒光照亮我们的脚步。穿过冷杉的呼呼风声不时打断那令人不安的寂静。严寒加剧，新雪使负重的树枝愈加明亮了。我在凛冽的寒气中吸着鼻子。我丈夫用树枝当拐杖，有节奏地敲着脚下的路。真是一种充满诗意的经历！
当光线太暗看不清手表而闹钟收音机又不能使用的情况下，明天要怎样才能按时起床？食品放在桌面上比放在冰箱里更冷冻。融化的蜡烛滴在地板和桌面上，在那闪烁的烛光下根本看不了书。在几近黑暗的地方坐下来，裹着羽绒外套，带着手套，穿着高筒靴，看着自己呼出的气体变成水蒸汽。电话公司的录音通知说，凌晨3点会恢复供电。除了睡觉，什么也做不了。今年的感恩节前夕，我惊叹于我们真的被宠坏了。人类结束黑暗的时间还没有太久。那时候，夜晚的到来就意味着大部分有生产力的活动必须得结束；白天和夜晚有着天壤之别；现在白天和黑夜都融为一体了，超市24小时都开着荧光灯，仅仅是供你选择的谷类食品就占据了4大排货架，总长30英尺。通过电话、短信、网络电话，我们可以随时与外界联系。而且，只要我们愿意，我们足迹所到之处——地球上的任何一个位置，都可以被精确地锁定和播报。无论是在床上，还是在咖啡馆，甚至是在巴士上，我们都可以随时收看任何电视节目。我们可以拍照录像，并将其发布出去让全世界的人都看到，还可以对其进行重播、恶搞，并设置自动调音，这样一来，每个人都有一夜成名的可能。
这一切究竟带来了什么？不幸的是，这使我们变得急躁和自私。如果断网了，我们会感到愤慨。如果不得不排队等候，我们会怒火中烧并要求见经理。我们不再对发生在自己身上的事故负责。每起事故都是别人的错，别人会被起诉，为之付出代价。这一切导致了压力和忧虑，使我们感到愤怒。愤怒是幸福的对立面。而愤怒的解毒剂是感恩。感恩实际上是一种高要求的复杂情感，需要自我反思、需要敢于承认自己依赖于他人帮助的事实，并能谦逊地意识到自身的局限性。
我们的文化使得我们傲慢自大、自我陶醉、崇尚即时满足和物质主义，这与善良和赞赏的理念截然相反。一部苹果手机在手，你可以控制整个世界，你就是强者。也就是说，直到停电之前你都是强大的。如果没有充电器、没有电池、没有光和热，你会意识到自己真正的份量，认识到自己真正依赖的是什么。你依赖的不只是电力公司，还依赖让你赖以生存的力量和那些让其变得有价值的人们。
凌晨3点，一屋的灯具重放光亮，我醒了过来，时钟的数字在我的床边闪烁，电炉嘶嘶地启动了，对此我无比感激。此刻，温度计显示户外温度为16华氏度（约零下8.9摄氏度），但现在，我不再理所当然地认为自己应该得到温暖。这是一个最好的时刻让我们记住：每个人都是脆弱的，都是相联互依的，都是渺小的，我们享有如此之多的奇迹，对于这些奇迹我们应该心怀感恩。