REPOST: My Thanksgiving Letter (Happy Pre-Thanksgiving)

My favorite Thanksgiving celebration was one where I didn’t necessarily spend with the majority of my family. It was a year where Mommy Bacchus (MB) and I decided to not travel to visit our respective families. Instead, we stayed in our college town and invited an international student from Africa as our guest. The three of us sat, ate and enjoyed explaining American football to our visitor. There were no attitudes, emotional outbreaks, food emergencies, stress or drunken cousins to spoil the evening. Although I missed my family, I didn’t miss all the extra stuff that has a tendency to ruin the holiday experience. Since Bacchus Jr. (BJ) was born, MB has refrained from cooking at home, and we have instead scheduled a packed day visiting friends and family. The problem with doing this is that everyone wants to eat around the same time of day, Midday.

So how do you visit four different homes and eat four different times during the hours of 12pm-4pm? If you don’t eat enough at one house, the host gets offended. Eat too much at the first house, and then you don’t have an appetite for the rest of the day. Fail to eat early in the day, and you may get to a house where there’s nothing left but picked over parts of the turkey you don’t like. Or on the other hand, you may visit a house that planned to have dinner at 2pm and they just put the turkey in the oven at 1pm (Saw this on Gray’s Anatomy last night). Since we started “House Hopping” I have given up planning to watch any particular football game in one location. One of my thanks has to go to my DVR. I can record all the games and watch them at my leisure that evening or over the weekend. 

So you suggest we just host Thanksgiving meal at our house so we don’t have to “House Hopp.” Been there, done that. Too much stress, preparation and clean up. MB is an excellent southern cook, and she prepares for Thanksgiving as though the President was coming. Way too much activity….. MB started a new tradition last year that really has me excited. Since MB likes her own cooking, she has started preparing a small feast just for the three of us the Wednesday evening before Turkey day. It gives us the chance to have our quite meal, no stress, and if she doesn’t get to everything, she doesn’t have to do it. I have to admit, that I just love this……Having this Wednesday meal relaxes me and puts me in a good mood for the next day. I also leaned something last year. The first thing I have to be thankful for is, My family… I see them in a totally different light now and I will also admit, even my crazy uncle…Yes, every family has one…..Enjoy this time with your family and Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday experience.

Happy Turkey Day

Ed Bacchus