It's that time of year to feast on turkey and all the trimmings, a traditional thing to do, but without enough thanks to the cooks. It's hard work for somebody but giggles and grins for everyone else. In recent years, we've taken a stand on that sort of thing and have dispensed with the cooking. There'll be no big feast here this year, like last year when we went to a Chinese restaurant. The turkey gets a break around here now, and we may never do it again. The cook gets a break too, and she's thankful for that. But I have memories of Thanksgivings past that are worthwhile. I think most families have a way of personalizing Thanksgiving, like in my growing up years there was also shrimp gumbo prepared by my Cajun uncle. To me, that was the best part of the meal.
I love Thanksgiving food - the turkey and dressing and cranberry sauce and fancy vegetable dishes. I love the desserts and the day with family and friends, but we all get old sooner or later. Family members drift away and have their own families to tend to, and that's the way it should be. As my wife and I aged, so did Thanksgiving as it moved to other houses where the kids had settled. One year I drove through a snowstorm to get to the feast, and said on the way home, "Never again." I broke that vow a time or two, but even though all I have to do now is drive across town for the feast, I'll bow out and leave it to the kids. We might stop by later on, but the giggles and grins have gone out of celebrating the feast now. I think that comes from understanding that one day a year to give thanks for the lives we have isn't enough. Why not do it everyday? And does it have to be a feast to remind us of what we should be thankful for?
Giving up a special holiday might not seem like much of a sacrifice, but this was always my favorite holiday. I'm not a Christmas person. The commercialization of that holiday ruined it for me some time ago. We haven't had a tree or decorations around here in a lot of years now, and the giving of gifts turned to just some money to special people to buy what they really wanted. We forgot what Christmas is supposed to be about. I've also considered the possibility we've really forgotten what Thanksgiving should be about, which makes it less essential, just too much fuss and bother. I'll be thankful today, that's for sure. I'll push aside all the things that bother me and think of the good things, and not just for today. Maybe Thanksgiving should be about the promise of a better tomorrow, something that's not easy to feel good about sometimes. Here's what I'm thankful for: I still have some life left, for however long it lasts, and I still have choices as to how I'll live it. That should be enough.
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