A Different Type of Thanksgiving

This year, Thanksgiving looks a little different.  

It’s not going to have all the excitement.

There will be no sweet potato casserole.

The side dishes will be limited. 

The house will be quieter.  

Hosting Thanksgiving is our thing.  We have hosted every year since we bought our first home.  Typically, my aunt comes and my husband’s whole family comes.   It’s the only time we are all together in one big group.  And there are a lot of us.  Hosting everyone is a big deal to me. It’s become our tradition. The only Thanksgiving tradition my kids know.

But this year is different. This year it will just be the five of us. 

Every year I get stressed.  Anyone who knows me knows that me being stressed isn’t really anything new.  I rush home to clean, bake and premake everything I can for the next day. I am usually up late. Anyone with kids knows that cleaning with kids around is like brushing your teeth with Oreos. 

I’m always exhausted. I usually shower 30 minutes before everyone starts arriving and attempt to make myself presentable. 

And I typically find myself complaining the entire time I’m preparing.  

But then people start arriving. The day is full of laughter and wonderful conversations. Catching up and hearing old stories. Some of those stories I have heard every year since Jay and I met; but they never get old. The day is full of chaos and love. 

And once everyone leaves I am always so thankful we hosted. Thankful for the new memories. Thankful for a big crazy family that I get to be a part of.  Thankful for another year together.

But this year, it’s just the five of us. 

We are making a meal that probably only three of the five of us will eat. It will not be the same as past years. A big part of me is broken hearted. 

Yes, this day is less stressful but it also seems less exciting.  Less like a holiday.  

It is one of my favorites.  It is about being grateful and family.  Something I think we miss out on a lot in life.  How important it is to be grateful and realize your blessings.  How valuable time is with family.  Life is so busy and on days like Thanksgiving, the busyness stops and family takes precedence.

I could just focus on what will be missing this year, but instead I am going to try to embrace it and look for any positives I can.  

I’m not stressing or frantically cleaning. I made pies with my girls and I don’t have to be as worried that they may licked the spatula then put it back in the bowl. 

I took some pictures. I allowed them to have another cookie as we smashed our gluten free Oreos for the pudding pie. 

On Thanksgiving we will get up, I will pretend we are going to watch the parade together.  Which will get turned off 15 minutes into it for some cartoon.  I always get out voted.

I will try to relax, eat and watch football as Addy screams “go baby, go” during every single play. 

It might not be as exciting but we will be together. Our little family of five will enjoy a quiet day at home together being thankful for all we have been blessed with. Okay it won’t be quiet because no day is quiet in this house.

Hopefully next year will be a house full of people laughing and enjoying each other’s company. I will be reminded how grateful we are for our family.  And how grateful we will be when we can celebrate together again.  

And I’ll be sure to remember how I feel today. And I’ll do my best not to get frustrated or complain as I prepared next year.