And on That Day We Gave Thanks

Thanksgiving
Originally uploaded by Pookah.

Thanksgiving…was…interesting.

Let me preface that by reminding you all that I go home every Thanksgiving, without fail. It is my absolute favorite holiday. Any holiday created solely for the purpose of hanging out and eating all day is okay in my book.

This Thanksgiving started out the same as any other. I flew home, my family picked me up, and the next day there were piles of turkey.

However, this year, the entire meal was on order from Shaw’s. We spooned food items out of plastic containers into aluminum pans to reheat and serve. There was turkey, ham, broccoli au gratin (that da’ Momma managed to burn to the pan), squash, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls and lumpy cranberry sauce (knowing how much I love the cranberry sauce in the shape of the Ocean Spray can, da’ Momma also purchased some of that for me). There were even two apple pies. It sounds like a lot of traditional food, but without the same love that enters into all my recipes, it wasn’t the most outstanding dinner I’ve ever consumed.

Auntie Thomas brought the stuffed artichokes (mine are better!), Uncle Dana the edible pies, and Ilana and Scott brought the appetizers (roasted nuts, scallops wrapped in bacon that existed for all of ten seconds before Preyasha and Dan inhaled them, veggies and hippie dip, and chestnuts). I think I actually ate so little that this was the first Thanksgiving I ever survived without feeling the need to fend off a tryptophan nap.

Honestly, the best food was the leftover food. I fried up the potatoes in butter, made ham and pepper eggs, and da’ Momma used the bones and leftover gravy to make a really tasty tortellini soup. What we didn’t eat we bagged for Anthony.

Yes, my friends, Anthony spent Thanksgiving alone. Because of work, he couldn’t leave town, so he ended his Thanksgiving eve watching football with some friends of his AT WORK. I still can’t believe he went into work on his night off, even if it was the kind of holiday you aren’t supposed to spend alone.

Anyway. Dan showed up for all of ten minutes this year, much like he does every year despite all his promises not to come. He threatened me with a sleepover at his house, which usually means he intends to get me so drunk that I can’t find my way off the barstool, but somehow that never happened and those ten minutes were all we saw of him last weekend.

My partner in crime, Christy, was also supposed to see me while I was home, but guess what?! She just recently found out that she’s pregnant…AGAIN. After swearing up and down that she never wanted to have another child after Sarol, Christy has gone and surprised us all. Sarol says the new baby will be a girl, and that they should name her Sarol, too. Christy tells me that when she asked how she and Matt would differentiate the two if they named the new baby Sarol, Sarol said, “When you want me, you call for Sarol. When you want her, you call her name twice.” Oh, that Sarol! She’s in for quite a different ride, I tell you.

So, after the day full of family, I saw no one. Instead, I spent a whole day at the movie theatre and then another whole day shopping with da’ Momma. Since Anthony doesn’t like what he terms “chick flicks,” we rented Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Fever Pitch, and then I went to see Walk the Line, Pride and Prejudice, and In Her Shoes. My absolute favorite: Pride and Prejudice. What can I say? I’m a diehard Jane Austen fan. And eighteenth century Georgian repression is just so HOT! The second in line had to be Traveling Pants. The rest were just dressing – they were good, but I’m not in love with them.

After spending so little money during the trip, I lost my head when we went to Target and Michael’s. I ended up purchasing so much that I had to borrow a piece of luggage from da’ Momma and could barely pick it up! I even had to check it on the plane. Ugh.

All in all, it was a nice weekend, what with the first snow of the season and all, but every time I’m away from home (i.e. DC – for the time being), I am constantly thinking of all the things I COULD be doing, instead of enjoying the fact that there is nothing to do. I am happy to be home, but already I am tired and wishing I had caught up on more sleep so I could get these applications (Peace Corps, grad school) together, find a martial arts studio and start going back to the gym, and all the little chores in between, like laundry and cleaning the bathroom.

Ah well, another Thanksgiving bites the dust.