I like Thanksgiving. I am not going to go into all of the things that I am thankful for in some bland, dry as overcooked turkey list, I am going to discuss why I actually like the day of Thanksgiving and maybe some of that stuff will come out.
Food. Food is of course the main focus on Thanksgiving. No matter what anybody says, food is the main focus on everyone's mind. I am not going to talk about food right now.
Thanksgiving eve is a lot like Christmas eve, expect unlike Christmas eve (as a child) I don't loose sleep because of excitement. On the contrary, I sleep better than any other day of the year. Deep down I know that I will have all day (until 4 o'clock) to do whatever I please and that homework, or other chores of that nature are not allowed. It is a completely free day to stay at home, chat with family, get ready for the meal and subsequent socializing, and doing fun projects that I want to do.
I don't feel rushed in anything I do. This year, I decided to work on my brother and nephew's bikes. They had been sitting in my basement for about a month waiting to be worked on and I just kept putting it off. I decided that thanksgiving day, because it is such a low obligation day, would be the perfect day to take care of this. I also cleaned my room and organized photos while I was at it today. It is like all pains of procrastination are gone on Thanksgiving. I feel no anxiety over completing any 'tasks'; I just do what I feel like doing in the time I have to do stuff.
The mood on Thanksgiving day is really peaceful and calm for me. Now is a good time to talk of food because it is probably the most stressful aspect of Thanksgiving. This stress comes in two forms for me: 1) How do I prepare for the large meal? Do I skip all meals and risk stomach shrinkage or do I eat a little and risk being too full? Do I load up on liquids to stretch my stomach like hot dog eating champions? This is a serious issue concerning maximum pleasure from eating. This year I went with a skip breakfast, largeish salad for lunch, and lots of liquids routine. I think it went well. I felt very satisified but not ill. It was a thanksgiving miracle. 2) Food preparation. I feel bad making my mom do all of the food prep, but I think she really likes it. She bakes, mashes, whips, boils, browns, roasts, and peels to her hearts content. I noticed that she rarely seems stressed out when it comes to the food on Thanksgiving. I think she is so well practiced that it is like any other meal for a large bunch of kids. So this only offeres mild anxiety mostly in the form of I have the responsibility of carving the turkey and my carving consistency is in the 'needs improvement' category. But it usually tastes good even though the breast might not be perfectly sliced.
Anxieties aside, I love food. I love eating slow and steady. I love chewing my food until it is well mashed and all the flavor has had an opportunity to escape into my mouth and tantalize my tastebuds. I love eating turkey with an 80%/20% Cranberry sauce to Turkey ratio. I love Stovetop Stuffing. I love the muted yet exciting flavor of candied yams. I love well made rolls. I love the combination of these foods and the general smooth yet powerful flavor the extol upon my whole masticative soul. I love pumpkin pie with Cool Whip (not whipped cream, name brand Cool Whip). I love the slightly hard and chewy texture of the pumpkin filling. Food is good. Food is more than nutrition. Food is an incredibly pleasurable experience.
Then comes the after party. This is when the kids run around naked (yes that happened this year) and we sit around and talk, laugh, play games, waddle around, and listen to Donna Summer. This part of Thanksgiving varies quite a bit. Sometimes it is quiet with board games and small conversation. Sometimes it is loud, raucous, full of nudity and mayhem. Both are nice. Both have pluses and minus. I like the variety.
Then comes the clean up. Things usually died between 8 and 9 o'clock. Spending time with my mom and cleaning up is rather relaxing and rewarding. It is a time to just be together for a little while. We don't necessarily talk (we are generally not extremely verbose with each other) but when we do it is nice. Otherwise it is nice to just help her out a bit and just be in her presence. I get the vibe that she feels the same way. That makes me a little soft in the heart.
Thanksgiving provides probably one of the only 'real' vacations I get all year. Christmas is close, but that has other demons attached to it that I will perhaps discuss in 1 month. This day has been good and tomorrow may end up being a wonderful day as well. Could it be another Thanksgiving miracle that the day after could be nearly as enjoyable as the Day of?
Toblog's photo is of my crazy nephew. I tried to take a bunch of pictures of the food but due to wrong ISO settings and frenzied eating nothing turned out. So here is my nephew. Enjoy his bright shining face of mischief (He makes Dennis the Menace look like the Charlie Brown).
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