Thanksgiving, giving, giving!

After Hurricane Sandy, I went with my husband + 2 of his co-workers to Staten Island to help with the cleanup efforts. 12 days after the storm, I was heartbroken to see Staten Island in such devastation. Entire communities were in ruin.

We were assigned to work on a home that had been completely flooded with water. First, we worked in the basement until we literally removed everything that wasn’t nailed down… and even some things that were. Then we moved upstairs where, for a few more hours, we pulled down all of the paneling and insulation and pulled up the tile flooring until the house was down to nothing but the studs and floorboards and was ready to be re-built. It would have taken the homeowners days to do what our crew of 4 worked diligently to get done in a matter of hours.

  

Did you ever see that episode of Friends where Joey tells Phoebe that there is no such thing as a selfless good deed? Well at that end of day, when we were driving home from Staten Island, I almost felt guilty because I felt so good. I had such a sense of pride and happiness that we had given back to the city of New York and that I had spent my day volunteering to help others in need. Here I was trying to help someone else feel better and I was the one that left feeling pretty amazing. Joey was right... I can't believe I'm quoting "Joey" from Friends but, hey, he made a good point... It’s impossible to do good without feeling good yourself.

Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks for the people, places and things in our lives that we are grateful for. Seeing the first hand devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy made me realize just how much I have to be thankful for and what a rewarding feeling it is to help others. So this Thanksgiving weekend, I encourage you to take the time to do a good deed and I promise, in return, you will receive that amazing feeling of happiness + goodness that only comes with giving.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Eat well and enjoy the bites!