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Thanksgiving in the United States is traditionally a day of overindulgence and visiting with family (whether you want to or not!) And for the guys who are into sports, it is heaven on earth. They eat until they have to undo their pants and then they relax in front of the tube watching any of a number of football games. The ladies get to socialize over the demolished and abandoned dinner table before facing the daunting task of cleaning up. (And some of us are lucky enough to have guys around to help with that!)
For me, Thanksgiving is one of the coolest holidays of the year. There are a few reasons I love it. First of all, it's not totally commercialized like other holidays. (In fact, it's practically ignored between Halloween and Christmas!) No gifts are exchanged, there's no pressure to give give give give. Instead, it's about eating too much and dozing afterwards, not about who gave who what and how much it cost. Most importantly, it's about acknowledging and being thankful for what we have.
The forgotten holiday
Thanksgiving is the forgotten holiday when it comes to the stores. Look around - wherever you go, from your local grocery (which is, ironically, trying to sell you all that yummy Thanksgiving food) to the malls, you won't find party turkeys adorning any stores! Nope, in some places, Christmas trees and lights are already announcing the holiday season! I admit, it used to bother me that Thanksgiving was ignored. But over the years, I've come to appreciate that it has been left unspoiled. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas time, but sometimes the commercialism and gaudy over-done decorations and demands for money and time for things that, in the end, feel more like obligations than "tidings of joy" get to me. With Thanksgiving, I can just make a nicer meal than usual, and enjoy an unusual Thursday off with my family. My husband watches football, and if we don't have guests that year, I usually read stuff I have been trying to read for months, and the kids bounce around like they always do. If we have guests, even better - I love to entertain at home.
No gifts, just good eatin'!
Yep, we do the traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings. I probably put more effort into Thanksgiving dinner than I do Christmas, because on Thanksgiving, the meal is what really matters, and it's the only thing to worry about. At Christmas, there are a hundred other things to worry about! On Thanksgiving, the meal itself is a symbol of sharing and survival, so it should be special. At minimum, we have a turkey, stuffing, mashed or scalloped potatoes, cranberry sauce, two or three different kinds of vegetables or casseroles, and bread. For dessert, I love pumpkin pie (I usually buy one from a bakery, but have attempted to make them some years too!), and the rest of my family prefers a chocolate pie.
When I was growing up, I remember distinctly that my mom (and her mom) worked themselves to death to make everything totally from scratch for the rest of us. We all sat around, hanging out and basically doing nothing. At least that was how it worked in our family. Everything we did that was supposedly relaxing, my mom (and her mom) would be busy in the background making sure everything was perfect for us.
Now that I'm the mom, the whole family joins in the dinner preparations. We do make an effort to make this dinner extra special, but it is not always completely done by scratch. The time we spend together is more important than having everything perfect and the whole family is involved. Not only does it take the pressure off me, but it also promotes family togetherness, which is something I'm very big on!
Although things are not necessarily done the way I would have done them, the feeling of togetherness is better than making sure everything is just so. For example, my seven year old can help set the table, put ice in glasses, and even do some of the actual cooking. Even my three year old has a job (with help from one of us) like shredding lettuce for a salad or counting out the silverware. It's really amazing what kids can do when they want to!
Yaaawwwwnnn. I'm so full I need a nap!
I just love it - as I said at the beginning, the guys head for the sofa, unbutton their pants, put the football game on and turn it up to blaring, and proceed to doze off. And the women hang out at the table, still taking a little bite of this and that because it's all just so good - and then suddenly realize how full they really are. I know, I've been there, and the eyes glaze over - we might as well be laid out on the couch ourselves!
But instead we jump up and force ourselves to clean up. That's what keeps us awake! In our home, especially if we have guests, I never worry about cleaning up right away. We do it later - when my husband is awake again and can help! If we have guests, I somehow manage to stay awake by going outside with the kids or taking a walk or something. If it's just us as a family, I might still go outside, take a walk or whatever, or I might sit down to read and doze off myself! It's wonderful to have a day where relaxing and doing pretty much nothing is completely appropriate!
Wow, I'm so blessed in life
The true meaning of Thanksgiving is to be thankful for what we have. Thing is, I think for everyone, there's always something that could be better, but it's truly remarkable how much we already have when we focus on our blessings. I have so much to be thankful for in my life - my family, my home, my health. I could get very detailed and write for pages about specific things I am thankful for, but I think you get the picture! My kids are so smart. I live in a wonderful place (Arizona) and I love the weather. I work for myself. My husband and I are closer than ever. My life is pretty sweet. It's awesome to be happy, and I'm very thankful for that.
The ultimate holiday
So that's why I think Thanksgiving is the ultimate holiday. We don't have to shop for it (other than food), we spend extra fun time as a family (making the meal and afterwards), our family has a really nice dinner, it's a nice relaxing day, and we reflect on how blessed our lives are. What a cool holiday!
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