HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This is a bit late, but forgive me...I was cooking for most of Wednesday and Thursday, then eating and in that happy state of Turkey Coma for most of yesterday.

This morning I even cooked up the giblets and made my dog his favorite dog treats - homemade turkey & cheese treats. He loves these so much that all I had to do was pull the glass bowl of inerds and turkey neck out and find the blender and he started going bonkers...Thanksgiving should be a happy day for pets too!

So, I've been thinking of Thanksgiving and the things I'm thankful for (okay, so this year, it's not a real long list) and I thought of something my brother-in-law Kurt said about why he likes the holiday. There's no dressing up, no church services, no parties, just eating and watching television. I have to agree.

The main Christian holidays - Christmas & Easter - have slowed down considerably from the days I worked as a youth minister and literally did not leave the church for weeks on end during the festivities, and the days of working retail, when I did not leave the showroom during the busy shopping times. But, Kurt's right. Thanksgiving is still that pure holiday that is about nothing more than enjoying food and family and football. You don't have to dress up. You don't have to worry that you forgot to send someone a card or present. You don't have to worry about upsetting your children and sending them into therapy because you bought the wrong toy. There are no choir practices, play practices, 18 services (okay, I'm Episcopalian, so it might be fewer for some of you) or negotiations with family...hey, it's the first holiday so you can always say, "we'll see you next time!" This gets infinitely harder at, say Easter, if you have already blown off your mother-in-law for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

And, the best part might just be the built-in four day weekend (unless you are a minister, in retail, or well, unemployed as I am right now and then who cares if it's Thursday or Saturday - they both look the same right now anyway). It's not as rushed, it's not as cold (hopefully) and it's not as chaotic. And if that's not something to be thankful for, well, I don't know what is.

So, Happy Thanksgiving...enjoy the food and football smorgasbord...for a weekend anyway.