**Did you really think I’d be in this for the turkey??**
***Photo Cred – I got this pic from the Peoria Journal Star’s website…I take no credit for it, but I thank them for letting me borrow it for my post! Oh, and to Charles Schulz for drawing it in the first place!***
As we all know by now, I am not a holiday person, especially this year. The thought of fighting crowds of fellow shoppers at the local grocery store for a can of cranberry sauce that I am not even going to eat, btw, doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest. I have no desire to spend hours pouring blood, sweat and tears into a meal that no one’s going to eat, since there are just 5 of us. And I don’t really eat leftovers, so why make all that food for it to go to waste? I cannot for the life of me understand the concept of stressing over a single meal…it escapes my reason of thought. I can’t imagine the pilgrims thinking to themselves, “hey, let’s start a tradition where people will fight in food establishments for the last loaves of bread and will cook for days on end and be too exhausted to enjoy time with their family and brethren. That sounds like a wonderful thing to do. Let us begin this tradition for generations to carry forth with gladness in their hearts.” Yeah, I’m beginning to think MY people at that shindig would have stepped up and voiced the ignorance of that plan. Lol
What I want to know is, where does it say that we HAVE to have this big meal of turkey and ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls and breads galore, desserts out the ass, all the casseroles your heart could ever imagine, to the point that we are miserable at the end of the meal and one person gets stuck cleaning it all up…and that is usually the one who cooked??? I don’t think there is a law in the Constitution or anything. I don’t think it’s in the Bible…not in the Old Testament nor the New. I’m pretty sure it isn’t state law or even local. So that means we don’t HAVE to do squat. We don’t HAVE to cook all day and clean up all night. We don’t HAVE to have tables of food that end up either going to waste or eat the leftovers for so long that the thought of having that dish ever again makes us want to puke, all the while knowing we will be doing it AGAIN at Christmas. So I say NO. Just no.
At work yesterday, everyone came around spreading warm wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving and asking about plans. And it was with such a wonderful nonchalance that I said that I wasn’t cooking a big meal. When I told people we were having chili dogs and tater tots, the looks I got were priceless, but the lights that came on immediately after where what was great. It was like the lightbulbs went off for them. WHY do we have to have big meals? WHY can’t we have chili dogs and tater tots? For the first time in I don’t know how long, I am not stressed about tomorrow’s meal. I haven’t even been to the store yet, and it is early evening on the day before Thanksgiving. And guess what? I KNOW that all my ingredients will be there. No one is buying hotdogs or hotdog buns. No one is fighting for the tater tots or French Fries. And lets be real, if they are completely gone, I can improvise with potato chips or rice or Mac n cheese or whatever I want. We could even have chili dogs and popcorn if we want. I meant, Snoopy made his guests popcorn and toast.
My message to you today is this, friends, Thanksgiving is about being thankful for not only what we have, but WHO we have in our lives. It isn’t about WHAT we are eating, but WHO we are sharing the meal with. If we are spending all our time stressed out about cooking and cleaning, we aren’t enjoying those around us. Life is short, loves. It is taken from us in an instant, without warning. Will you remember the same ol’ Thanksgiving over and over, or will you remember the year you had chili dogs and tater tots, while snuggled up on the couch together watching Snoopy make toast by the boat loads for his friends? For me, I opt for the memories that will stick out, so it’s chili dogs in my house.
No matter what your meal is, my little family and I wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving. Please remember that there are those who are struggling this holiday season, whether it be financially, physically, mentally or emotionally. Please check on those you know are struggling and just be there for them. Don’t say anything to try and make them “feel better”, necessarily, just let them know you love them. We all have stories no one knows about, so please remember to just be kind. The person standing next to you may be one comment away from stepping off the ledge, one way or the other. You may be the one who makes the difference which way they go.
Love you most,
Lacy
