The old tradition of going home to Mom and Dad's house for Thanksgiving is a tradition of the past. The house is sold, a new family celebrated their first holiday in the place my parents had called home for the past 41 years (46% of their lives.)
I hosted this year, my sister and brother-in-law, Blitz the wonder dog and one of my nephews came for the day. I did it my way, no schedule, dinner was served when it was done, no preset deadline. A bottle or two of wine was opened (my father was not comfortable with wine being served.) The bourbon collection was open for exploration by those who were interested (my nephew is still developing an appreciation for something better than Maker's Mark.) My goal was as little stress as possible. The menu was my choice (the question of "what no mashed potatoes?" was answered with "who among us needs two starches?")
I need to get better about inviting people. When we merge the two houses into one next year, the larger dinning room table will be here - making it easier to host a larger party.
So what is Thanksgiving all about. It is an end of the season harvest feast, showing thanks. I try to make it a celebration of the bounty in our lives, not a festival of gluttony. It is a time to gather with people you like, to be thankful for having survived the year, and wishing for good health, peace and prosperity in the coming year. It marks the beginning of the end of the year holiday season.
This year it was the beginning of new traditions, with great thanks for the good times past.
What did you do on Thanksgiving?
we two stayed indoors, had lasagna & cock-a-tails (a nod to mistress maddie). we worked on our hobbies, napped, petted the cats, listened to music. I even did laundry. just another lazy day.
ReplyDeleteWe had friends for dinner and enjoyed a fabulous day with good food, good drinks, and good times. Then they all went home and we cleaned up.
ReplyDeleteWe went camping. Killed a spider whose size almost qualified him as an animal! He should've kept his considerable ass in the woods.
ReplyDeleteHad a pre melt down, from which I’m still recovering, then cooked and served dinner to a total of 22 people. I’m grateful that I have a family I can both melt down in front of and then cook for.
ReplyDeleteWe Brits don’t celebrate- we’re saving (literally) for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI worked your Thanks Giving.
JP
Not a thing. But we had an UnThanksgiving dinner on Saturday with friends of a mix of nationalities. As people come and go in our lives, our traditions evolve. My parents never had traditions that I continued to participate in after I left home.
ReplyDelete