Being grateful

Yesterday and today I attended the Utah chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education (Utah NAME) conference. My friend Ramona was the chair of the conference. This morning they had invited a group of Native Americans to post the colors. They did it to a drum song on a really big drum played by about 8 of them. It was one of the most touching experiences I have had with the posting of the colors. I stood and cried during most of it. Then after they brought the flags down, one of the girls sang The Star-Spangled Banner. Once again, the tears just came. I was so moved by the gratitude I felt in being here and the blessings that I have. I feel that I often take my blessings for granted.

One of the sessions I attended today was about the refugee placement that is going on here in Utah. Utah is one of the sites that receive a lot of refugees. The presenter talked about how so many of these refugees have lived in refugee camps for 30 or 40 years because they escaped horrible conditions in their countries. The refugee camps had very few amenities and many of the people have been malnourished. Now the US has agreed that they can come here and receive protection. Life is very difficult for these refugees because they have lived in fear for so long, and now they have come to a new land and culture where they have so much to learn. Just listening made me feel even more grateful. We have so much and we don't even think about how much we enjoy. Even things as simple as being able to read and having clean drinking water.