Thanksgiving

When I was a kid, Christmas was my favorite holiday, but as an adult it became Thanksgiving.  Maybe because there was less pressure to create the "perfect" day.  When I was married to my first husband, we HAD to go to his family's house on Christmas Day.  My family didn't matter and THAT was made plain to me early in my marriage.  My family said "when we get together it IS Christmas" even though I am certain my mother would have loved to have US in her home celebrating Christmas Eve.  I dreaded the "Family Christmas" at my in-laws.  The tension brought on by forced cheerfulness was palpable. They were always making some snarky remark about my family, pretending to be funny.  Making fun of other people is NOT funny.  If you need to do that in order to feel better about yourself, I am sorry for you.

Early in my marriage, I declared Thanksgiving to be "our" holiday, the calm before the storm that Christmas was.  I loved and still love cooking all the goodies that are associated with the day.  It gives me time to reflect on my blessings and be truly thankful.  Now, a lot of people take umbrage to the supposed origins of the holiday, but that is just another fiction dressed up as fact.  For me, Thanksgiving is NOT about a supposed feast shared by the pilgrims and the locals, it is about taking a moment to realize what you have and be grateful.  I love placing the huge meal on our dinner table and having it filled to capacity with friends and family. 

I will NOT participate in Thanksgiving as a shopping day.  It's hideous.  Whatever happened to family time?  I am happy that the grocery stores are open, but if they closed at , say 2 pm in order for families to get to celebrate together, that would be good too.  I remember when stores were CLOSED on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  When did retailers begin to think that forcing employees to work on a holiday (and I would be willing to bet in most cases for a straight wage) would improve morale among the workforce?  Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a disgruntled sales clerk working in a frenzy of shoppers who are trying to break down the door to get to the bargains.  It's MADNESS.  I am NOT doing it.

So, if you are not doing anything on the fourth Thursday in November and you want to join us, there is always room at the table for one more.  Let me know.  I'll throw another potato in the pot!