Thanksgiving
My husband’s cousin called me many years ago and said since she wasn’t from America and did not grow up with Thanksgiving, could her family come to my house for Thanksgiving. What she didn’t know was that I had not done Thanksgiving but had been going to a friend’s house each year with my sweet potato pies. That call started a tradition and twenty years later I am still hosting Thanksgiving.
In preparing this year for all of the logistics (which you would think after 20 years I have a working formula), I am still trying to figure out when to do what. I realize that Thanksgiving dinner is like a metaphor for life. (1) Have I contacted everyone to find out if they are coming and how many family and friends they are bringing with them? (2) Contact my neighbor to use her kitchen, get her keys and get instructions again for her alarm system—she leaves town every Thanksgiving. Yeah! I need her two ovens so she can never move as long as I have Thanksgiving at my house or she will have to put a clause in the contract that whoever buys her house has to let me use the kitchen on Thanksgiving. (3) I have to create my menu and my shopping list. Shopping use to be a nightmare all to itself. Now it’s finding a parking space and remembering to take enough environmentally correct grocery bags with me. Costco, Smart and Final, Trader Joe, and Ralphs are my first runs with many return visits to Trader Joes and Ralphs. Today is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and I have finished my first runs. Where I once had to muster up the energy to dice the onions and celery, I am now in a grove by playing my favorite music as I rhythmically dice and chop the onions and celery for the three different stuffings. I have a few vegetarians coming so I make a separate stuffing with vegetable stock (Oh I didn’t get vegetable stock so that is a Trader Joe visit); a good ole fashion stuffing with everything but the kitchen sink like my grandmother use to make and then I make a low carb stuffing for myself. I have to laugh at that, but carbs are not my friends and so I have created a stuffing that is friendly to me. My favorite music of Broadway hits, R & B, and Jazz keeps me in a mellow mood. I don’t know if the onions are making me cry or the lyrics to some of my songs. I begin to dance around my kitchen and no longer pity myself for the mess I am making because I am now celebrating the aroma of the food that is on my stove. I have not figured out accurately what can be made several days in advance. I have a friend whose table has been set for a week while I am still counting who is coming.
I realize the preparation for the day is similar to preparing a wedding, a business deal, an Opening Night, or a big vacation. A lot of time is spent on who should be involved in the planning and execution, what new and creative elements can be put into place, who will be there and what would be important for them to experience, and what do I want to experience as well.
In the beginning I realized that I spent a lot of time shopping, cooking, setting up and the meal would last 30 minutes. I then added an activity before dinner which gave everyone the opportunity to reflect on all the things they had to be grateful for and the dinner became less of a marathon and more of a time of sharing thoughts, ideas, food, and joy.
How can you take the time to hear the melody and rhythm to whatever you are doing? The beauty is in the doing and not the outcome. If you think about it, it takes time to do something and when it is completed, it is fleeting. Saying I do at your wedding takes second but the planning takes days, weeks, or months. Preparing for hosting your Thanksgiving takes days or weeks and the actual meal may last 30 minutes. It is significant to take the time to enjoy selecting the produce and all of the ingredients; enjoy finding and experimenting with a new recipe or creating your own; supporting a farmer’s market ( I just added that to my list) and talking to the merchants to find out about their products. With that thought when I finish this blog, I am going to my local farmer’s market and find the items I need to complete my feast.
Have fun finding your rhythm, creating your day and Happy Thanksgiving!