Giving Thanks

Somehow we have made it past the middle of November, and Thanksgiving is next week. I'm not really sure how this has happened, but multiple trips to the calendar have confirmed this rumor, and my family has assured me that in fact, we will be eating turkey at this time next week. (well, not this exact time anyhow) There's all sorts of noise, for lack of a better work, in the world surrounding Thanksgiving. You hear about it on the radio, or the TV, or read about it in the paper or on the internet. The best way to cook a turkey or the best stuffing recipe or how to decorate your table so that even your cranky old aunt Betsy is impressed. Does it really matter? I think we place too much importance on the wrong part of the holiday. We end up tired, stressed out and cranky with dry turkeys and overcooked stuffing that took 5 hours to cook and 15 minutes to eat and ended with a table full of bickering family members. Where is the enjoyment in that?

This year, I will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner at home for my own little family for the first time. Having never done it, there are no standards I have to live up to. We are going to enjoy a turkey dinner, which I have cooked before, with several side dishes that I still have not yet determined, and when it's all over, we are going to head out to the theater to see the new Muppet Movie. When we return home, I'm planning on a dessert or maybe two to choose from.  I will be giving thanks that we are employed, have our health, a roof over our heads and are together. After the year we have been through, I have much more to be thankful than all of that, but it's a start. Right now, I'm thankful that I have three more work days until the Thanksgiving break gets here. I can hardly wait.