It’s the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving and I am still in my pajamas. Not back in my pajamas – I said STILL in my pajamas. That’s because Thanksgiving wore me out. It wore me out just the way it’s supposed to. We (there were ten in all around my table) enjoyed a home-cooked meal that included three casseroles, two vegetables, two kinds of cranberry sauce (not including the mandatory pink stuff which has nary a cranberry in it), mashed potatoes and gravy, oh and a roasted turkey with a side of ham. Did I forget to mention the deviled eggs? And pie – of course there was home-made pie. Pie day happens on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Pie Day includes myself and a dear friend wearing crazy aprons while we churn out four pies – two pecan, one pumpkin and an apple. It is one of my favorite holiday traditions because she and I don’t get to see each other that often, but we count on Pie Day. All in our, including Pie Day, our feast took about 20 man hours to prepare. It was worth every second even if it is a heck of a lot work.
The preparations start with lists and food shopping, stirring and baking, and then peeling and chopping, and roasting and timing, and washing a mountains of pots and pans. There’s china and tea cups and a real tablecloth. There are pounds of butter, pints of cream, and more pecans than I can count. I absolutely love Thanksgiving because it is THE holiday steeped in traditional recipes indulged in the company of family and dear friends- a full day set aside to give thanks, share memories and make new ones. And it has nothing to do with shopping.
The fact that the holiday has become so focused on the deal hunting crazy antics of shoppers and retailers makes me beyond sad. I’m mournful for all the people who cannot enjoy the holiday because they have to work in order to open the stores earlier and earlier – cutting all the way into the day of thanks that is supposed to be set aside. C’mon America, why not Black Saturday? Then we could all enjoy our holiday, recover, enjoy a few leftovers and then venture out to shop – if we must. At least that would allow the retailers to breath and close long enough for a full day off. I wonder if Nate Silver could make a prediction about the positive effects of the country taking a pajama day…
Musings 