How I Learned to Love Thanksgiving
As a child, I used to really dislike Thanksgiving. We would get dressed up (ugh) and go over to my grandmother's house where we would be met by various relatives, some of whom I would see once a year. There was a lot of work involved in helping, and a lot of football being watched by those not helping. Dinner was great, don’t get me wrong, but the cleanup????? There was no dishwasher, and even if there were, we would never put the good china or silver in it. Hours of handwashing and putting things back until next year… the juice didn’t seem worth the squeeze, as they say.
Flash forward to my 30-40’s, and Thanksgiving is still low on my favorite Holidays. Now the pressure is in cooking without burning myself and then cleaning I remember the kids being maybe three and five, and I cooked my turkey that may or may not have been thawed out properly. In addition, I did not know that you should let the turkey sit for a few minutes after taking it out of the oven. It was not good. We ate a lot of mashed potatoes and dressing that year, which was just fine with my girls since they did not give a rat’s ass about turkey anyway.
Now I am in my 50s and have acquired a better appreciation of this Holiday. We have used this Holiday to read our family “gratitude jar” post-its we have collected throughout the year. Or we have every family member write out what they are most grateful for during that year and read aloud before we dine. Or we light a remembrance candle and take a moment to remember those who are not with us this year that we dearly love and miss. One of my favorite Thanksgivings was when I decided to just order the entire Thanksgiving dinner from our local market. It allowed me more time with family and took the pressure off all the cooking… and it was GOOD. Whatever your traditions are, make sure to take time to breathe, appreciate the togetherness, and tell your loved ones what you are most thankful for. What I know for sure is that time is flying by, and I have the choice to make this Holiday whatever I want it to mean for me... and that I make a mean sausage and sage stuffing!
Grateful for all of you - Happy Thanksgiving!
