Felix's First Thanksgiving

Mom and Dad said it was time for Thanksgiving, but I was a little confused because I’ve been hearing Christmas music all month. The mall has Christmas trees, and snowflakes, and reindeer decorations – Mom and Dad said that’s because they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Romania.

Grandma came to visit us, and everyone I know who lives here from America was really excited about the feast coming up. Mom bought a green pumpkin that’s bigger than me; when she scooped it out it was orange on the inside and she put it in a pie. All day, I smelled chicken cooking (because Mom and Dad couldn’t find turkey anywhere), and Dad kept mashing up apples to make cider. I don’t know what those things taste like, but they sure smelled good. 


They got me all bundled up and into the stroller because it’s cold outside, and I got to take my stuffed lamb with me. We all went to the office building conference room and there were 30 other people there! Only a couple of them were American, most of the people had different nationalities like Romanian, Scottish, Dutch, Roma, and Filipino! They all brought all kinds of food and drinks to celebrate the feast.  There were lots of different languages but I could talk with all of them! 


I had so much fun! Everyone seemed to enjoy all the food, I was happy just drinking my milk though. There was a little girl who held my bottle for me. I don’t think she’d ever done it before, but it’s okay, I was patient when she pushed it in my mouth. I started to get sleepy after a little bit, but I kept my eyes wide open because I didn’t want to miss any excitement! Most of the men have beards like my daddy, I liked to reach up and touch them and feel them with my forehead. But Mom and Dad don’t need to worry, I still recognize them.

Lots of the people there were Deaf, I already knew them because I see them on Sundays at church. They’re my friends, and I like to talk with them. When they talk everything they say is with their hands and face because they can’t hear. I try to talk with my hands just like they do. They use lots of facial expression, so I really enjoy watching them sign.

After the meal, everyone played games together in groups, but I was too busy socializing. They said their tummies hurt because they were so full of food, but mine didn’t because I had just enough milk. Then they all talked about what they were thankful for. I’m thankful for all the people that love me and take care of me; I know I’m safe and that God gave me a great place to live.