Tradition!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we'll be eating good. Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams, peas, macaroni and cheese, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and sweet potato pie. There are only three of us at home now, where once we consisted of seven (oh, and a different hubby).

Personally, I would be quite willing to forego all the hoopla and keep it simple. Really simple. I thought briefly about a restaurant, but who wants to sit around waiting for their food in a restaurant when we can do that at home, in front of the TV? Plus the cost, of course. We could all go to the local "community dinner," maybe even volunteering to serve for a while. But then, it just seems like a hassle, and so much more comfortable to stay at home. I thought about turkey TV dinners. Not just any old TV dinners, of course. These would be Hungry Man Turkey Dinners! The best!

Well, in the end, my significant other won out. He is very much a traditionalist. He talks unendingly about how things USED to be, and food is very much a part of his family memories. Of course, he's not a child any more, his siblings and cousins are hither and yon, his parents have passed away, as have many aunts and uncles. So, now there are just the three of us, he and I and my youngest daughter, and we live far from the remaining relatives, who he reminisces used to pop in all day long to visit, and watch TV, and hand out quarters to the kids, and share a good meal. Actually, my holiday memories are not so different. I just see myself in a different time and place, and I accept it. I even like it.

Nevertheless, my dreams of "something different" are now sufficiently subdued. I went on over to Walmart today and did some last minute grocery shopping. We'll share in the cooking chores (he smokes the turkey and makes the pies, I do the rest), and we'll just have ourselves a merry little Thanksgiving.