Thanksgiving is only two days from today, and I want to make a bold and probably unpopular statement: Thanksgiving is about more than food.
People who know me will probably be quick to think my statement is because I don’t like Thanksgiving food. Admittedly, I’m not a fan of whole turkeys; I don’t like real mashed potatoes; stuffing that has been inside the bird disgusts me; I find pumpkin pie to have too much pumpkin flavor. Oh, and I’m allergic to sweet potatoes. Additionally, as not the biggest fan of cooking, I struggle with the concept of a meal that takes days to cook and minutes to eat. However, this is not why I believe Thanksgiving is more than food.
In my years – 38 of them – I remember a lot of Thanksgivings. I vaguely remember sitting around tables, but I can’t tell you what all was part of the spread. Do you know what I remember about the table portion? Being allowed sips of wine from Grandma’s special goblets as a teenager. That’s about it.
For me, Thanksgiving was always about doing things with my family. Some years this meant Thanksgiving was about lottery tickets. After eating, we would sit in my grandma’s living room and play scratch offs (we liked scratch offs the way some people like watching football). We would start with like $30 worth. Once they were scratched, we’d walk over to the gas station and buy more with the winnings plus a little extra if needed to get the number of tickets divisible by six (the number of people in the family). We’d continue the cycle until there were either no winnings left or the winnings were so big that the winner didn’t want to share.
If we traveled to see my mom’s family, there weren’t lottery tickets. There also wasn’t wine for that matter. However, there was playing with cousins during a time that wasn’t summer and listening to my grandpa sing Christmas carols as my aunt played piano. There was also the time my uncle’s neighbor accidentally ran over himself while fixing his car. I missed the action because I was in the bathroom, but I’m pleased to report the guy was okay!
Traditionally in our house Thanksgiving has also been about planning our Black Friday shopping. Black Friday is the only day of the year I enjoy shopping because I like deals and the competitive treasure hunt aspect of Black Friday shopping. Back in the days before Covid, we’d spend hours looking at the ads and making a game plan. I was great at organizing who had the best sales at what times and creating a shopping agenda. I’m also phenomenal at the online follow up for things we couldn’t find in the stores! Covid has obviously changed our Black Friday shopping, but there’s always online!!!
For me, Thanksgiving is about more than food. For me, Thanksgiving is about time with family and enjoying that time together. Time is more precious than turkey ever will be! No matter the opinions of others on the matter, my mind is made up.
XOXO,
The Great Kaysby
The Great Kaysby 