Kids find plenty to make them thankful

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/10/2009 (6119 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s Thanksgiving, a time of traditions, such as sitting around the dining room table, eating yourself into a coma, then beating your relatives senseless with empty casserole dishes because — let’s face it — most of them are pretty darn annoying.

But of all the traditional traditions, my favourite is getting a bunch of innocent schoolchildren to write my column for me so that I can count my blessings by lying on the couch in the den watching football for 17 hours straight.

That’s why I am extremely thankful to announce today’s uplifting holiday weekend column is being brought to you courtesy of dozens of hard-working kids in Nicole Jemielity’s Grades 7-8 class at Elwick Community School.

The kids invited me to visit on Career Day to offer insightful tips on how to be a humour columnist (e.g., buy the largest couch you can find). In return, they wrote letters telling me about all the things they’re thankful for this year.

Their letters are funny, goofy, touching, profound, and straight from the heart. So, as you gather ’round the table and prepare to whap Uncle Billy upside the head with a bowl that held jellied salad, here’s a few of the things for which these cool kids are grateful, beginning with …

 

"I am thankful for the NBA season that started this month so I can watch a basketball game on TV … and my mom bought me some gel so I can fix my hair." — Kurt Santos, Grade 7

 

"I am thankful for my hair, Los Angeles Lakers, Doug, friends, cows, Kobe Bryant, yellow and purple (the colours), cars, being cool, lava lamps (OK, there’s no room for the entire list but you get the idea)." — Jeffrey Pamintuan, Grade 8

 

"I am thankful for my family and for my friends. Without my family and friends, I think I wouldn’t be able to live or be happy. I am also thankful for music. Without music, I would DIE!!" — Brooke Yorki, Grade 8

 

"I am thankful for Skittles, and any kind of candy because when we bug (our teacher) Ms. Jem, she doesn’t get mad at us because we just tell her we had candy. I am also thankful the Jonas Brothers AREN’T coming to Winnipeg." — Brittany Slusarenko

 

"I am thankful for my cats because they are cool. I am also thankful that we got to see pictures of Doug’s dogs, because they look cool and they are funny." — Drake Lundberg, Grade 7

 

"Having a very nice and loving mom, my artistic genius, my coolness … having a father who works for 16 hours, my straight and shiny hair." — A.J. Mendoza, Grade 8

 

"I am thankful for not having another brother because my brother is really mean. He likes to do weird things. I don’t like boys. They are really annoying." — Ashley Marion, Grade 8

 

"I am thankful for not really feeling any pain because one time I was playing football with my friends and I got tackled and 10 minutes later my foot got all wet, then I look at my foot and there was blood all over my leg … when I finally got to go see a doctor they pulled out some glass and grass." — Brandon Boudrea, Grade 8

 

"I am thankful for girls and shoes." — John Lucero, Grade 8

 

"I am thankful for being alive today and OK and normal, because people are suffering and sick." — Shaunovin Flett, Grade 8

 

"SMILES! I am thankful for having legs to run away from my brother." — Katie-Lynn Toth, Grade 7

 

"I am thankful for my teacher bringing Doug in because he is cool (Editor’s note: Sorry, not sure how this one slipped in). When he came he told us about how he smells like a flower. As he was being a bee telling us the story, he got in my face and goes BZZZZZ… and I was thinking Wow… he’s just like me and that’s when I thought he is cool and awesome!" — Jordan Hemminger

 

"I am thankful for having freedom… having a computer… for having Ms. Jem as my teacher for two years. She made my last two years very fun!" — Carlee Giancola, Grade 8

 

"My friends that are very caring even though they tease me in a joking way, my younger brother being there for me even though I always boss him around… being in Grade 8, since our school is only up to Grade 8 and we’re, like, the oldest in the school!" — Mary Euana, Grade 8

 

There’s lots more letters, but we’ll give the last word to Melanie Medina (you might want to get a big box of tissues before you read this):

 

"I’m really thankful for my sister and my dad, who tries to be funny, and my mom, who’s pretty much the best cook in the world. I love them more than chocolate. Speaking of chocolate, I give thanks for chocolate and candy and everything sweet. I also give thanks for my house, love, friendship, peace and everything else money can’t buy.

"I also need to give thanks for books. Yes, books. Don’t call me a nerd, but I love books. Lastly, I give thanks for our planet, world peace, nature, love, the sun that rises up every day and sets in the night and everything else in the world that we always seem to take for granted."

 

Yeah, I think that just about covers it, Melanie. So let me just say, thanks Ms. Jemielity’s class. I’m truly thankful I got a chance to meet all of you.

And here’s hoping the turkey you have on this weekend is even bigger than the one that visited your class last week.

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca

 

 

"I am thankful for

girls and shoes."

— John Lucero, Grade 8