One Thanksgiving, One Location

For the past five years Thanksgiving has been a bit of a headache (in addition to the expected stomachache!) and a logistical nightmare. Usually Ryan and I are trying to hit two (sometimes three) family Thanksgiving dinners. When we got married we came up with an awesome plan that we would switch off where we spent Thanksgiving and Christmas in order to be fair. So the first year we had Thanksgiving with Ryan's family and Christmas with my family, and then the next year it was Thanksgiving with my family and Christmas with his, etc. Now this would be all fine and dandy and simple except that our parents live less than five minutes away from each other. So there is really no excuse not to see both families on holidays. The result is an hour by hour breakdown where Ryan and I travel back and forth between the two homes (we waste more gas on holidays than any other day). And we always visit my Oma and Opa who also live close by. So depending on where my parents are at for Thanksgiving (usually at Oma and Opa's) we have at least two dinners to catch (or consume).

But this year we got a rest—we spent an entire day at ONE HOUSE! A bunch of my mom's family came to Utah for Thanksgiving so we spent the holiday with my family. It's been about 13 years since I have spent Thanksgiving with some of my mom's family. It was so much fun to see my Grandma and Grandpa W., Aunt Robbie and her family, and Uncle Brian and his family. And since I forgot to bring my camera so you will have to imagine lots of yummy food, beautiful table decorations, lots of laughter and more than a few "inappropriate jokes and/or comments" (my Uncle Brian and I should be separated at all serious family functions!). Or you can just look at the Norman Rockwell painting above. It looks exactly like our Thanksgiving dinner this year except my mom and dad are about thirty years younger, no one wore suits, my parents' dining room is a different color, the food was served buffet style, no fruit bowls were in sight, and I'm pretty sure none of my uncles made eye contact with a painter.

Happy Turkey Day!

My aunt Robbie sent me this photo and I couldn't resist using it!

I thought I would share a few quotes on Thanksgiving.

"I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land." —Jon Stewart

"Thanksgiving is America's national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty (in France, by contrast, there are three such days: Hier, Aujourd'hui and Demain)." —Michael Dresser

Thanksgiving is my second favorite holidy (Christmas is first ofcourse!). Unfortunately, I need an annual holiday to remind myself of all my blessings. For me Thanksgiving is a time to be with family and to express gratitude. It's also a time to rededicate myself in matching my actions to my feelings of gratitude. I love the following quote by President John F. Kennedy:

"As we express our gratitude, we must never foreget that the highest
expectation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

I think Thanksgiving is a perfect start to the holiday season; it sets the tone as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ during the month of December. That's why I'm so bothered by the way Halloween and Christmas are squeezing out Thanksgiving. I love the Christmas season but I don't want it's ever earlier celebrations to demote Thanksgiving to simply a day off dedicated to food and football. Andy Rooney from 60 Minutes may be a crazy old coot but I thought he did a great job decrying the passing over of Thanksgiving.

All right, go eat your turkey and pumpkin pie.