Post Thanksgiving Round-up

Thanksgiving has always been a holiday for just Tim and I. It usually goes like this, he volunteers to work some ungodly early shift so he gets first pick at Christmas and I start cooking on Wednesday night. Thursday rolls around with the house smelling like pie, brine and ginger and while he's at work I create the Thanksgiving magic. He comes home we eat, clear the table and fall asleep in the living room and wake up later only to discover that pixies have not arrived and done the 12 loads of dishes sitting in the kitchen.

When our friends, co-workers and neighbors find out that we spend the day without company or family it seems as though one of two reactions occur: 1) That must be sooo NICE. or 2) It's too bad your families are so far away, it must be difficult. In truth the first Thanksgiving was difficult. It was our first holiday after we got married, away from our families and it was the first holiday meal I'd ever made. There are no tales of raw or burnt bird, food poisoning or under appreciated work. It did take me an evening and a full morning of solid cooking to get the food on the table, I did have to acquire one recipe from my mother in law because "it just wouldn't be right to have a turkey and no party-puff potatoes" and the turkey did take longer to cook than I thought, but in the end it all worked out. Nobody got in a fight and nobody cried in frustration, it was a low-key day that ended with Willy Wonka and Chocolate Factory on TV. We survived our first solo Thanksgiving and have been doing so ever since. The truth is that most people get it wrong when we tell them we'll be spending turkey day on our own, it's nice and quiet but a bit lonely and while we'd love to be able to share our Thanksgiving with those we love, we've gotten pretty adept at enjoying on our own.