I suppose compared to the rest of the world, the holiday is seen as gluttonous – we must eat all day and sit slovenly on our sofas, watching football (American football) on TV all day long. Then the next day (or rather…that evening as it seems to be the case this year), we pounce on the local stores with vigor for “Black Friday” sales. It’s all a little…well….excessively American, isn’t it? I can’t and won’t apologize for our culture, but I can certainly say that some of the more ridiculous stereotypes are just that – stereotypes.
I don’t know how other families celebrate the holiday, but we really try to make it more about the getting together and being thankful for our time together than we do about the food, the sport or the sales. (although I am the first to admit I read the sales ads with a heightened sense of interest!) This is definitely not my most favorite holiday of the year, but I’ve found that in recent years, I tend to appreciate the day a little more than I did before. Losing a parent will do that, as will the realization that your children do not stay children forever. It’s become increasingly clear that my oldest will be leaving for college sooner rather than later – I can count the years on one hand now and not even get through all of the fingers – and so I pay a little more attention to the joy of family togetherness, at least until I’m ready to knock heads together around here.
My day today will be spent getting some of the side dishes made for tomorrow and then cleaning my house. With 3 kids, it’s not an easy task and most definitely not one I tend to enjoy, but it must be done…and darn it someone has to crack the whip on these kids when they start slacking off from the cleaning. 😉 I’m sincerely hoping real news doesn’t break regarding Duran Duran – it was about this time last May when I started hearing some rather sobering news – but we’re not going to even mention that!
With that, I must be off to deal with a turkey and a mop! 🙂
-R
