Marcelo Mainzer, Nederland. This article was supposed to be in last week’s Mountain-Ear, but this reporter missed the deadline. It was supposed to be about the visit the children from the New Explorers Learning Center made to The Deli at 8236 to help Ross Alper make his Loving Cup Soup. This is something he offers every Monday “for donation” to those that can contribute and free to those who can’t but can use a cup of hot healthy soup.

I will fill you on that but, in light of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday I wanted to know what kids are thankful for. Why do people say thank you? What is the difference between grateful and appreciative? I asked Karen Campbell, the co-director of New Explorers what she thought the title might be, and with a little help from Corbin, one of the New Explorers we came up with Sharing soup and that answered my question. The essence of both gratitude and appreciation is sharing.

Sharing time, energy, money or soup is always appreciated and something to be grateful for. Sharing work like cleaning up a kid’s room, sharing a meal, soup, sharing time, a visit to the senior center, or offering a listening ear. Sharing is a gift that often rewards the giver as much as the receiver. 

Jerimiah, another New Explorer, said what he is grateful for is his family. What better example of sharing is there then family? Families share space, food, laughter, sadness and everything else in life. Evidence suggests that 20,000 years ago people started sharing soup, that was when tribe and family were almost interchangeable terms. 

In the 1970’s there was a popular commercial that asked a boy, “What did you learn in school today? His answer was sharing. The New Explorer Learning Center is a place that shares the vision where all children are valued, healthy and thriving. 

On Thursday November 14, 2019, the kids were invited to The Deli at 8236 to help Ross, whose son Aiden is a New Explorer, to make his Loving Cup soup. Karen Campbell said of the shared field trip, ‘”Ross welcomed all the New Explorers to his Loving Cup kitchen, he had the pot boiling and the vegetables cut for the children to pour in. We were all excited to put on our gloves and cook, stir and taste. Karen shared Ross’s sentiment that it’s important to take care of people and our community, that hungry people are welcomed with open arms at the Deli. 

Speaking of sharing, another field trip the explorers went on was to the senior center. Here they shared their time and creativity with the elders of our community. They listened and talked with the seniors and even sang for them. The seniors for their part shared their cookies with the kids.

Below are the New Explorers thoughts on sharing, gratitude and love:

Madalyn says, “Thank full means I love you”.

Adi says, “that mommy gets to write messages to me”.

Ophelia says she’s “thankful for her doggy that’s alive, and Ripples is his name”.

Knox is thankful that he has a grandma.

Riley is thankful for his brother Sean.

Oren is thankful for his grandma’m, grandpa and his papa.

Marcelo is thankful for being able to share the kid’s thoughts with you.

Nederland is full of things to be thankful for. The Deli at 8236 which has been serving food and community for a long time. The New Explorers Learning Center, formerly Aspen Grove Community Preschool which merged with Little Bear and with the help of Teens Inc will continue to enrich the lives of our children. The Senior Center at the Nederland Community Center. All the hard working volunteers on the various boards who share their time to help Ned to continue its tradition of joy and community service. All the wonderful restaurants and shops that attract visitors to our town. And the rich history and beautiful location of our town. 

What are your thankful for?

(Originally published in the November 28, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)