Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

I have never been one for Black Friday sales. This has always been the case, but it has become especially true over the last few years and the exposure of corporate greed and the beginnings of the Occupy movement. I don't enjoy shopping on the best days. I especially don't enjoy it knowing that I am merely contributing to the profits of some huge, out-of-touch corporate empire. So, no Black Friday sales for me.

I also do not watch football. I don't care who's playing and I don't give a fuck who won. I cannot express that thoroughly enough. I don't fucking care about football. At all. Ever. I appreciate that you do, but I have tried and I do not. I had better things to focus on this holiday weekend.

First of all, my husband is home for Thanksgiving. I cannot express how giddy I am to have him here. Living alone has been good for me but, things are better when he's here. I am especially thrilled to have him home because there was a moment on Tuesday when it looked like he might not make it. That would have made for a pouty bitch on Thanksgiving and I would have been difficult to be around for a while after. So, YAY! My husband is home!

Our Thanksgiving involved going out to my folks home in South Salem, where my youngest daughter, my aunt, my cousin, and his partner were ready to spend the afternoon talking and overeating. And that's exactly what we did. We talked and laughed and overate and had a good time. I have a great family, and I enjoy having my time with them. Especially with the prospect of moving so far away looming in my future. I am thirty-seven years old and I have never lived more than ten miles away from my parents. And while I know that I will do just fine, it weird to think that, if I should want to see them I'll have to make travel arrangements, rather than just having to make a phone call.

So, I try to revel in my time with them while I am here. My mom makes one of the most moist, delicious turkeys ever know to man and she modified her stuffing recipe to make it gluten-free so that I could eat it this year. I made mashed potatoes with gouda cheese and bacon. Caesar salad, corn, rolls (gluten-filled & gluten-free), and two types of pie for those who could eat that, gluten-free cookies for me. Dinner was delicious!

Now it's not all Norman Rockwell perfect in my family.There are awkward silences, uncomfortable moments, and occasional weirdness but, somehow we manage to get through those moments and remember that we really do love each other and we should enjoy these moments while we have them. Even the uncomfortable moments.

How do we do that? To be honest, we have had years that the Holidays were far more uncomfortable than they are now. The years when I was with my ex-husband... The years when I was strung out on meth and we were all trying to ignore it... The year I was pregnant with my oldest daughter and we weren't really speaking to each other... The years when my parents would get so drunk we could barely be civil to each other... Even in those years, we celebrated the Holidays together and tried to put our differences aside in spite of everything. I guess after experiencing years that were really uncomfortable, it's easier to take those moments of awkwardness that happen now and let them go.

Thursday night, we went out to Dave & Nikki's and sat by the fire, spun fire, listened to music and drank cider or beer. From one family to another. While the experience is different, the feeling is the same, "I love these people so much. I am going to miss them terribly when I am gone," so I savor each moment like a gourmet meal, as I know I won't be able to hang on to it as well as I'd like once I am away.

Friday night, we went back to my folks place to celebrate my oldest daughter's twentieth birthday (which isn't until next Thursday but, she wanted to have a celebration while her step-dad was in town). more overeating and more laughter. For me, the best moment came when my daughters and I got Mom and Dad talking about the beginning of their relationship (almost fifty years ago!). It's amazing to me that my folks have been together for as long as they have and that they still love each other so much.

While I didn't watch a single football game or hit even one Black Friday sale, I feel like my weekend has been well spent. I hope everybody out there had a similarly lovely holiday.