GRIN #303
(An oldie but goodie…)
I just got an early Christmas present. Someone else is hosting Thanksgiving this year.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m completely supportive of the idea behind Thanksgiving. Being thankful is something that should be done on a daily basis year-round. But the actual day of Thanksgiving turns into something completely different. It’s a free-for-all food fest that takes 49 hours to prepare, 20 minutes to eat, and three days to clean up.
And this year another family member is hosting Thanksgiving. That means I don’t have to clean the bathrooms or sweep the hardwoods. I don’t have to root around in the garage for all the folding chairs and find appropriate appetizers and ice down drinks and figure who should sit where and how are we going to get an extra table in here??
It brings me such joy to say those four lovely words: “What can we bring?” And, honestly, whatever it is, I’ll bring it. You want Crème Brulee? Done. Martha Stewart’s homemade stuffing? I’ll head to the woods and pick the spices myself. Just don’t rescind your offer.
I should explain that Thanksgiving with Jerry’s family or my family is not at all like having five or six folks for dinner. Or even 10 or 15. With extended relatives and children, it numbers into the mid-twenties, sometimes higher, and that’s only with one family, never both at the same time. Celebrating with both families would require renting out the food court at the mall. Which, frankly, is not a bad idea.
This year, I’ll bring my covered dish, and when we’re ready to leave, we’ll say our rounds of goodbyes and slip out the door. And an early Merry Christmas to me. No waiting around for people to leave.
But, wait, I sound like the Thanksgiving scrooge.
Truthfully, Thanksgiving is one of the last bastions of good old fashioned family time; forget that you have to unbutton your pants for the car-ride home.
I enjoy our big Thanksgiving celebration no matter where it’s held. We all have a great time as a family, and it’s wonderful to see how everyone is doing and to catch up on who’s been doing what. Miraculously, we all get along really well, at least most of the time. So, really, maybe that’s what I should be thankful for.
That, and that it’s not at my house.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
GRIN 