Turkey Day!

Happy Tuesday! 2 days and counting until my very favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. The time of year when we deal with our family’s crazy quirks and pretend that they don’t annoy us. That awesome day when we grumble about the men watching football while we, the women, are stuck in the kitchen preparing a huge feast. Ahh, holidays. It’s just not a family gathering until someone hurls a turkey leg.

As an only child, Thanksgiving was always a small affair for our family. Just me, mom and dad. After the divorce, just me and mom, or me and dad, depending on who had the biggest fit over me that year. Ahh, memories. Sometimes my dad would drive us (post-divorce and remarried) to Mississippi for the holidays with my grandparents, aunt and uncle. But it was still a relatively small gathering. (Ha! Get it? Relatively? I crack myself up!)

When I got married, I discovered the joys(?) of a big family holiday. My first husband (rest his tortured, drug-ridden soul) had 2 brothers and they each had children. And then there was our daughter and the extended family – friends who just showed up every year, knowing there would be plenty of food. I realized later that they were actually there to buy pot, but that’s another story. As much as I disliked my first husband’s mother, that woman certainly can cook. Sure, she was a drug dealer, but why begrudge her when the turkey was so moist?

I started dating my second husband in November, just two weeks before turkey day. My daughter and I were supposed to make the trip to Mississippi with my dad, but she caught a nasty cold and I didn’t want her to travel. So I was invited to spend thanksgiving with my not-yet husband and his gigantic family. No Pressure. My Thanksgiving just got huge. That was the first time I met his mother. She greeted me with a big hug and a mixing spoon, as if to say, “Welcome to our family, now get to work!” He has 2 brothers and a sister. Brother 1 has 3 kids; Brother 2 had 1 at the time, 2 now; and sis has 4. Counting spouses, cousins and drop-ins, the count was around 25+ people for Thanksgiving dinner. Never had I been to a gathering of this size. It was a little overwhelming.

I became accustomed to the large family holidays. They were a beating a lot of the time, but I adapt easily. After my divorce, my holiday gatherings shrunk down closer to the size I was used to as a child. I guess everything comes full circle eventually. And that’s fine with me.

So this year, there will be me, my kids, my awesome joke-writing man, the two boys and the giant dog who live in my house, and perhaps a friend or two. I never turn anyone away on Thanksgiving. My daughters and I will be cooking. The men will probably be watching sports. And I just know it will be a wonderful day. As long as no one throws any food.

Gobble gobble!