Are you ready to give up Thanksgiving?
BY SUSAN ADCOX
Every year in late November, my husband asks me the same question.
It usually happens around bedtime the day before Thanksgiving, after a full day of baking and chopping, one that was preceded by a day of cleaning, putting leaves in tables, and polishing the silver.
“What’s going to happen when we can no longer do this? Do you think any of the kids will cook Thanksgiving dinner?”
It’s a valid question.
We usually have more than 20-holiday guests made up of our family and friends, so hosting is a sizeable task. Maybe our progeny are too smart to sign on for the job.
Some people in my generation are finding that home-cooked holiday meals are too much trouble. They post pictures on Facebook of restaurant meals, along with gleeful captions: “Look, Ma! No dishes!” Some have taken to ordering those ready-made meals from supermarkets.
My family members have a uniform reply to such options: When hell freezes over.
No one else makes dressing quite like yours.
What about Laurie’s sweet potato casserole?
You can’t find pecan pie that tastes like homemade!
It’s because of comments like these that I am confident, even if my husband is not, that eventually some member of the family will ask, “Why don’t I do Thanksgiving dinner this year?”
Not that I am eager to hear those words. Thanksgiving has been my holiday for 40 years, and I’m not ready to give it up. I pretty much love every part of it, even washing the dishes.
But eventually, someone will have to do it because I’ll be in a “better place,” or well on my way to that destination. Maybe the dressing recipe will get tweaked a little, or someone will bring a new dish that will become everyone’s favorite. If at some point the whole meal gets outsourced, that’ll be okay, too. Because it’s not about the food, it’s about being together.
But until that happens, pass the homemade pumpkin pie!
Here are some other holiday articles from Susan to enjoy:
Enjoy a Great Thanksgiving with Grandchildren
Have a Happy Interfaith Christmas
Avoid Favoritism During the Holidays
Cover image: Illustration by Sam Spratt at Gizmodo
About the Author – Susan Adcox
Susan Adcox is the Grandparents Expert on About.com and the author of Stories From My Grandparent: A Heirloom Journal for Your Grandchild. A former teacher, she has seven grandchildren.
