Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, we don’t have Thanksgiving in Panama, officially that is.

But since I’m on the ZUIDERDAM with lots of folks from the USA, I will have Thanksgiving today right on schedule! Today is actually a sea day – we’re on our way back to Fort Lauderdale – and it’s really best to celebrate a holiday at sea. And Thanksgiving – someone else does the cooking and the cleaning!!

But except for expats, there’s no Thanksgiving in Panama. But this is a country where there are 21 HOLIDAYS a year! Additionally, after working one year, they get 30 PAID VACATION DAYS, plus 18 SICK DAYS, plus “13th Month”. “13th Month” is a neat scheme were by one is actually paid for an extra month’s work each year, without working – cool, huh? This is divided and paid out over the year in three equal payments. Doesn’t actually build up a “work ethic”, but hey, not bad if you can do it. But the lack of a motivated work force with a good work ethic hurts development and foreign investment, leads to high unemployment, and hurts Panama.

The “Holiday Season” starts with Independence from Columbia (November 3), then Independence from Spain (November 28). Pretty cool, TWO Independence days! The biggest holiday of the year is Mother’s Day on December 8. Then Christmas with all of it’s fireworks (big tradition here as the sky explodes on Christmas Eve!). From Christmas to New Years nothing happens. In January Boquete has its Fair of Coffee and Flowers when it’s party time for two weeks. Then comes Carnival and more partying! Forty days later is Holy Week when many businesses are closed and nothing happens. Good Friday is a legal holiday, then Easter. So from November until after Easter it’s hard to get much accomplished.

But today is the traditional US Thanksgiving . . . so what am I thankful for?

• A wife who is partner, companion and friend and who has put up with all the BS all these years
• Two great kids who I enjoy as adults and are more than I ever hoped for and a great son-in-law (our kid choose well)
• Rian Patrick Eaton, my fantastic grandson
• Two young friends who’ve kind of adopted us who, despite some real shaky years, are turning out to be neat men
• Friends, new and old
• The opportunity to be living in paradise, having fun, exploring the world, growing and enjoying the journey
• The chance to cruise the world with Holland America
• A new home to enjoy when I get back to Panama
• A Christian world and life view that helps the world make sense, believing that God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives, and that it’s a plan for our good
• A Hebrew cosmic view that believes in spite of all the injustice that in the end justice will triumph

That’s a lot to be thankful for!