During my 40 years on this planet, I’ve had a chance to celebrate Thanksgiving in many ways. I try to live my life 
from a place of gratitude and joy. A place that takes time to express thanks. But all that seriousness can get tiring and occasionally feels cliché. So today, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving 2021, in response to our new marketing campaign that aims to position TDRPD as the best place to work and play(#PlayForALiving) I’m going to take a playful approach to celebrating Thanksgiving with the Recreation and Park District.
I am going to count my blessings, TDRPD style. Here it goes:
I’m grateful for the 40 laps I swam at the Truckee Community Pool this week. Also, the 5 flips off the diving board and 1 trip up the rope climb. I’m also grateful to have seen my daughter bellyflop twice in her attempts to flip!
I’m grateful for the 30 minutes of reading I watched Ms. Fix deliver to our Grasshopper Preschool program on Friday. Getting lost in a story is one of the greatest gifts.
I’m grateful for the 40 basketballs bouncing around the gym during the start of TDRPD’s 2021 Youth Basketball League. My son is in 8th grade, and it is his final year of participating in this program.
I’m grateful for the set of 20 new tables that were delivered to the Community Recreation Center last week. The replacement of these tables signifies a return to special events and fundraisers in and around our community.
I’m grateful for the 5,000 Goldfish crackers consumed throughout our afterschool programs in November. I am also grateful that I limited myself to only eating 70 of those 5,000!
I’m grateful for the 2nd Truckee Community Theater performance in 4 weeks at the Community Art Center. The building is full of activity, singing teens, dancing adults and overall creativity.
I’m grateful to have hired over 10 new employees in the Recreation Department over the past 2 weeks. We are slowly approaching a full roster of employees.
I’m grateful for the 18 years that I have been employed at TDRPD. The fun times and rewarding experiences are enough to fill me with happy tears as I reflect on all we have done together.
This Thanksgiving snuck up on me. Most of us work at a breakneck pace between our paid jobs, volunteer opportunities, family commitments and leisure activities. It’s easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle, to forget to take a step back and take a deep breath. Which is why I’m also grateful for the 60 minutes I took to sit down today and count, however playfully, the things I am grateful for here at TDRPD.