The Giving of Thanks

The holidays are upon us. Once Halloween is on the horizon it all seems to go too fast!

My thoughts have turned to Thanksgiving this year. My husband and I have been married for 6 Thanksgiving holidays and in that time we have only had 2 traditional holiday experiences. Why? Well, let me be candid- I don't really dig it.

My mom's family and my husband's mother's family are regulars during Thanksgiving and both are enough to make the psych ward look normal most of the time. Not that we don't love them, my husband and I just agree that the closer we can stay to Christmas Card relatives, the better. Otherwise, our relaxing holidays turn to drama and that's just no good with us. Even before I was married my family started phasing out the traditional Thanksgiving dinner in exchange for dinner in a condo at Disney World, a cabin in Jackson Hole with just the 7 of us, or even Planet Hollywood in Vegas.

Sad? Perhaps. But not for us! We LOVE to celebrate that way! Forget the big meal for 20+ people and all the cooking and cleaning. When I was younger we had to hold Thanksgiving at one of our church buildings because my family is so dang large! I prefer the more intimate setting where I am not trying to force conversation with cousins I haven't seen in 6 years or have nothing in common with- we'll save all that for Christmas.

As for the hubby and I we have become the anti-traditionalists on Thanksgiving. Last year we had a steak dinner at a nice restaurant the night before and snacked all day on Thursday. Oh yeah, and we were all alone. The verdict? It was awesome. No stress. No drama.

This year however, we are having a traditional Thanksgiving. The great news is- it is with someone else's family! They are awesome and we are actually looking forward to it, so I hope it turns out great. At least we have eliminated the stress of traveling to one of our family's homes in exchange for something local, which is nice. Plus, all we have to bring is the stuffing and I think we can handle that.

Even with our unique ideas of how we like to enjoy our Thanksgivings (which we will no doubt continue), I am glad that there is a day focused on giving thanks. I have so much to be grateful for, even in hard times, and I hope I can remember that every other day of the year.