How Was Your Thanksgiving?
Venting is definitely allowed.
TGIF, everyone. And happy Black Friday, if you celebrate. I am working today because somehow I decided to take on five assignments at once for The New York Times, but they are interesting pieces, so I (mostly) don’t mind.
I had a relatively chill Thanksgiving — I celebrated locally with my kids and their dad at his house. I wasn’t sure what that would be like (divorce brings many firsts!), it was actually really nice. I think this is the least I’ve cooked for a Thanksgiving in at least a decade. I made mashed potatoes, cherry pie, and popovers, but my ex cooked everything else, which was lovely. After dinner we all watched 2018 Grinch movie together, which is one of my 13-year-old’s favorites. And then I went home…. by myself. My kids are at their dad’s for the holiday weekend. Again, lots of firsts.
How was YOUR Thanksgiving? I am hoping you have a wonderful day, but I know Thanksgiving can be hard — it’s so much labor and so much extended family. And, of course, the kids are often not on their best behavior. So today I’m inviting you to share your Thanksgiving stories in the comments — good or bad, we are here for you!
This was the first thanksgiving since my mother in law died in May. My husband and I (and my almost 2 year old) drove 7 hours to be with my father in law for a few days. My father in law drinks a lot and isn’t very easy to be around, but it was one of those things where we weren’t going to just leave him alone or make him do the drive by himself. It’s honestly very hard. My kid already broke a few Christmas decorations, my sister in law and her family didn’t come, I miss my very supportive and festive family, etc. My husband and I cooked a lot yesterday and were just totally wrung out by the end of the day.
I know we did the right thing by coming, we are able to help him with a bunch of stuff around the house and he appreciates us being here. I just wish that so much about this situation was different. I basically just keep telling myself that it’s not going to be like this forever, things will shift before long. I hope others had a better time!! Solidarity to those who are kind of going through it.
My family of origin hasn’t had a strong Thanksgiving tradition for a long time, because a couple of the guys are hunters, and this week is the big week for that in Wisconsin. So I’ve come to savor the day with just my partner, and we’ve been figuring out our own traditions for the past few years. This year, I made a turkey-less dinner, and we watched a couple of movies, and it was just a delightful, calm day. I also worked in the morning; this is one of my favorite weeks of the year to write in peace while absolutely no one is emailing me or scheduling meetings.
This year, my family may have started a new tradition: We had a soup swap two weeks before Thanksgiving. So we were able to gather together over good food, but it was SO much less stressful and required less planning than a Thanksgiving meal for dozens of people. Highly recommend for anyone who wants to make the holidays easier, if your people are willing to let go of traditional expectations.