Thanksgiving Dinner

Since this is going to be a short and, while I'm at work, very busy week, this will likely be my only post this week, so I wanted to reflect a little on Thanksgiving.

My wife is the eighth of ten kids. You can imagine with spouses and the average four or five kids for each family, our thanksgiving dinners feel more like church pot lucks. In fact, her side of the family has grown so large that we have to reserve a church in her home town, and put up the round tables and metal fold-out chairs to house and feed everyone.

While it loses a little intimacy and quaintness, it's actually quite nice to have a family Thanksgiving dinner in a church. The kids, both young and grown up, usually play a little basketball in the gym to work off the turkey, rolls, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. After the feast and basketball, I personally like to sneak off to the foyer and steal the couch for a quick afternoon nap. There's no competition for the bathroom, since there are plenty of those, and a church seems to have its own feel, conducive to emotions of gratitude.

I always enjoy the conversation and comeraderie with my siblings-in-law. While not all of my wife's family will make it, most live in the Idaho-Utah corridor, so there are plenty of people to talk with, inquire about, and learn from. I almost always leave the annual event having had great conversations about politics, sports, religion, and more.

While I could be wrong, I think Thanksgiving is the only major holiday dedicated to a human attribute all of us are able to experience. Of course it has historical roots in real events, but we've ended up calling it not "Pilgrim's Day" or "Harvest Day", but... Thanksgiving Day. When we have our familes -- extended, adopted, and immediate -- surrounding us, and we're partaking of thoughtfully-prepared food, symbolic of the bounty we enjoy, Thanksgiving Day is the perfect recipe for happiness.

I say we take a respite from the world's weight this week, and enjoy the lightness and reprieve of gratitude.