I’ve always thought Thanksgiving an under-appreciated holiday. Any holiday that revolves around food, family, and football is fine by me. Add to that the fact that I, by virtue of my date of birth also occurring on the last week of the 11th month, usually receive gifts on or around Thanksgiving, and it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.
For many, Thanksgiving has essentially become an opening ceremony for the Christmas season. This is increasingly true as “black Friday” sales continue to encroach upon Thanksgiving Thursday. Still, there is something to be said about taking a little bit of time to think about the things we have before diving into the deals we can get. And if you can do that thinking over a fine turkey dinner with all the trimmings, all the better.
It was with this in mind that I prepared for this year’s Thanksgiving feast. As I have done the previous couple of years, I scheduled off the day before to prepare the house and some of the food for company the next day. To facilitate this, Grandma and Grandpa Friedrich volunteered to take the kids for the night. Shopping was completed, and the turkey was in the brine and ready to go for the next day. I suggested that Beth take long-overdue day (or at least a part of the day) off to do whatever she wanted as I got things set.
Reflections from a Perfectly Normal Childhood 