KRISTY’S KORNER: Thanksgiving, oh, how you have changed…
I have been thinking this week about how much Thanksgiving Day has changed. I remember being in the car traveling to the Cape for Thanksgiving, crowded in my parents station wagon, with my brother, sister and our dog driving straight through the night to arrive at my Aunt’s house for Thanksgiving weekend. Seeing cousins and family we see only in the Summer or during the Holidays was something I absolutely loved and looked forward to. Wondering who was going to join us at the “kids table” was always an anxious moment and now I look back and realize that the “kids table” was definitely the best table to be at. There was food EVERYWHERE!! After all we were “trapped” in for at least 24 hours without another place to go…nothing was open! Gone are those days…now what used to be a day set aside to spend with family is being replaced with a shopping holiday…we are allowing ourselves to be rushed to the next holiday before the present one has a chance to put the feast on the table.
I like that Thanksgiving shows us how Norman Rockwell paintings we are not. Some of us are divorced families that share the day with our ex’s so we have our children every-other holiday. I love people who say, “It’s JUST a day…” well, yes it is…it’s Thanksgiving!!! It’s hard to look around the table and see family missing, especially my children. They are, after all, the thing I am most thankful for!!! Others are families who come together grudgingly with unresolved conflict who pretend for the day that they even like each other. We fight about politics and the way we raise our kids different than we have been taught and we gossip about other families and their OBVIOUS mistakes in raising theirs. I love to just find a quiet place and pretend I am napping and then just listen to all of the conversations in the room. I suggest you try this…it will be hard not to smile. We enjoy the topic of food, calories, dieting and all of the guilt we are feeling during this amazing “food” holiday. I am not planning on a single raw vegetable or low-calorie dessert to touch my lips…I love gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing and butter!! Lots of butter!! Isn’t that why we all wait to make resolutions after the 2 major food holidays??!!!
Anyway, tomorrow when you celebrate the day set aside for thanks, remind yourself how good you have it…be thankful and make sure those around you know how grateful you are for them. Possibly think about making a 24-hour pledge to not be suckered into leaving family to get a great deal for the next holiday…enjoy the day and each other!!! Happy Thanksgiving!! Love to all of you, Kristy
11/26/2014
Kristy’s Korner
by Kristy Spinelli, spinelliscoop@hotmail.com
Kristy is a local writer and Hyannis News contributor. Her views, opinions, and observations will deal with a wide range of topics surrounding our local HyTown culture. Kristy’s views do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Hyannis News, but in the true spirit of freedom of expression are intended to entertain and create discussion. Feel free to add your own thoughts in the facebook comment section below… or you may also contact Kristy directly at spinelliscoop@hotmail.com.
