Michelle Morgante: Many reasons to be thankful in our new hometown

The gift-shopping frenzy is just getting started, but I’m lucky. I already have a precious gift.

It’s a box of Kleenex. It’s a common box – purple-and-white-printed cardboard holding 230 sheets of two-ply tissues. But it is filled with the sort of kindness and sense of community that brought me to Merced.

I received this box Oct. 19, the day a team of movers pulled up to my new home. As a veteran journalist who has moved a dozen times across the country and into and around Mexico, I considered myself a pro at relocation. I knew the routine: I set up a patio chair in the driveway, and had my pen and clipboard ready to mark off the tag numbers of boxes as the movers ferried them into my home. I had the rooms cleared and spaces measured for the large pieces of furniture. But I was not prepared for what happened when the container was opened.

The 20-foot shipping box that had been stuffed to absolute capacity with my life’s accumulations when I left Mexico City was, now, nearly empty.

I was stunned. Initially, I thought, “this is the wrong container.” Then, as I looked closely into the dark space, I realized the few shattered pieces of furniture left were remnants of the cedar desk I loved. The pieces of toys scattered on the floor were bits of things belonging to my three boys.

Our container had been ransacked.

Of the 205 tagged items that went into the truck in late August, fewer than three dozen emerged, and most of those were torn apart and destroyed. Nearly everything owned by me and my children was gone.

The reality of the loss hit me as I poked into a torn-open box and found a stuffed animal, a threadbare Snoopy that I have had since childhood. I grabbed this dear remnant of my past, slid into the plastic chair and wept.

The team of movers stood by in silence, not sure how to react. Then, a woman walked up to me, offering me the box of tissues.

It was Nina, my across-the-street neighbor who had warmly greeted me a few days earlier when I first arrived in my new Merced neighborhood. I don’t recall what she said to me – I was too torn up to hear words – but the kindness and thoughtfulness of her gesture comforted me.

Many of us this week will stuff ourselves with feasts and then wake before dawn to rush to stores to buy gifts for our loved ones, and maybe even a few deals for ourselves. But for me, having lost nearly every material item that I cherished as important has allowed me to better see the things for which I am truly thankful.

Of course, at the top of the list, there is my family. This is the first year in many, many years when my boys and I don’t have to get onto a plane to be with my parents for the holidays. I am thankful to be near them, and that we are all in good health and able to enjoy time with one another.

I am thankful for my neighbors. Having grown up in a small town in the San Joaquin Valley, I know that communities like ours offer a sense of connection that is rare in larger places. I wanted my children to experience the heart of a community and that was one of the main reasons I chose to leave the megalopolis of Mexico City to live in Merced. My neighbors: Nina and her husband, Milt; Pete next door; and Karen, who chats with me as she walks her dog, have welcomed me, kept an eye on my home when I’ve been away, and helped me get oriented to the town.

I am thankful for my co-workers and the sense of community they represent. This team at the Merced Sun-Star truly cares about Merced County and they work long hours to keep our readers informed, to honor our First Amendment and to respect the power of words and images.

I am thankful for the police officers and sheriff’s deputies who risk their lives to keep our community safe. I loved living in Mexico, but I know firsthand about the security risks there. Yes, there are dangers everywhere. But I am thankful that, at the very least, I can trust that if I were to call for help, authorities would respond, and that there is a system of law that is respected and enforced.

I am thankful for the veterans I see in our community, for their service and sacrifice. Those of you who have lived elsewhere may understand what I mean when I say one never truly knows their country until they travel abroad. I am thankful we live in a place that honors our servicemen and women. I love that my new home has a flag post already installed and that this Veterans Day I was able to join my neighbors in displaying our nation’s flag.

I am thankful for the diversity of this community. My goodness, I am so happy to live in a place where I hear different languages being spoken in the markets, where my grocery store has a wealth of Asian and Indian food items in addition to the Mexican brands I love and the American treats I’ve known since childhood. I am thankful our community is built by people from so many places, each with rich histories and traditions.

I am thankful for the beautiful colors of the autumn leaves, for the rain (rain!) and even for the morning fog because it is proof there is moisture in our thirsty Valley.

I love that when I walk out to pick up the Sun-Star from my driveway (yes, I’m a subscriber, too!), the fog creates a gray background for the trees lining my street, with their kaleidoscope of reds, oranges and yellows. Having spent many years in climates too warm for a true change of seasons, I am thankful to be back in a place with such natural beauty and to be on a street where the loveliness of such scenes is protected and nurtured by my caring neighbors.

There were days when I thought the box of 230 tissues would not be enough to hold my tears. But, one month later, there are many tissues still inside. Each time I pull one out now I think about Nina and about all of the many things for which I am thankful.

To all of you, I thank you for making Merced the community that it is. I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Michelle Morgante: Many reasons to be thankful in our new hometown."