Thanksgiving. Yes, the fourth Thursday in the month of November, every year. Kind of like Election Day, which is the second Tuesday in November every other year. Well, more people seem to give a shit about Thanksgiving though and eating turkey since it’s our gods given right as Americans to have a turkey holocaust and eat their flesh while we watch football and hang out with our families or friends or friend’s families or frenemies or by ourselves crying while watching Charlie Brown miss that damn football yet again because that bitch Lucy thinks it’s funny to pull the ball away at the very last second causing him to fall on his ass in utter disgrace and embarrassment.
But I digress.
I actually like Thanksgiving. First off (if I had a ‘real’ job to go to right now), it’s a day off work for most people. We don’t get a whole lot of those when we’re employed. Well, most of us don’t… one of my family members gets 5 fucking weeks of vacation. 5 WEEKS!!! Can you believe that shit? This is America and we’re supposed to be working ourselves to death. I’m not worried though, soon enough I’m sure it’ll come down to either some employees being fired or other employees having to lose some of their benefits. Sound familiar? I’m sure it’s happened to plenty of you already.
Dammit… another tangent…. OK, back to Thanksgiving and why I like it.
First off, I like turkey. It’s good eatin’. Granted, eating turkey for Thanksgiving isn’t quite as unique as it used to be as since now it’s been shown that it’s a healthy meat to eat, it has grown in popularity. I mean, there is turkey everything! Turkey bacon, turkey salami, tofurkey (it’s actually true, when I first moved to Seattle, I arrived there on Thanksgiving day and knew two people out there… both of them at the time were vegetarians so, I got to eat an all vegetarian meal on Thanksgiving day… which, in hindsight was perfectly fine…. I changed a lot over the 4 and 1/2 years I spent in Seattle and I guess you could say having a vegetarian Thanksgiving is somewhat like jumping in the deep end not really knowing how to swim).
This Thanksgiving is a little different though. Actually, it’s a lot different. First off, my mother has moved back to Illinois from Oklahoma and this will be the first Thanksgiving I’ve spent with her in I don’t know how long. I’m happy about that. I know some people that will have to go to 3 or 4 different places in order to make every part of their family happy because this person doesn’t like that person or some petty bullshit that people just can’t seem to get over. Don’t get me wrong, this exists in my family. It irritates the fuck out of me though and I know I shouldn’t let it because it doesn’t really have anything to do with me. Also, it’s just how modern life is. Everyone is caught up in their own world and sometimes don’t stop to think or even want to think about what might or might not be going on in the life of those who have effected your life in one way or another. I am no exception to this but I’m doing my best… I will say without hesitation that I do truly care about everyone in my family and anyone that has referred to me as a friend. If that sounds sappy, I don’t care because isn’t that what Thanksgiving is supposed to be about?
And that, right there, is the point that I’m trying to make. I’ve had a lot of losses this year… not just people but other things as well. I don’t really want to go into detail. Those that know me already know and those of you that don’t have likely had similar experiences this year or in previous years or will at some point in the future.
So do this (don’t spend a lot of time on it though, a brief moment will be enough). Wherever you are on Thursday, look around at who you are with. No one forced you to be there so you must be there for one reason or another. If you really don’t want to be around those people, leave. You’re doing yourself and them a disservice by even wasting each other’s time. But, if you do actually like the people there, remember that you are incredibly lucky to be sitting where you are. Even if you’re by yourself (which I’ve done too and trust me, it isn’t so bad), remember that you’re alive and that at some point during the day, there are others wishing that you were with them. We can only be in one place at a time though, so if certain people are somewhere else on that given day, so what? There are 364 other days in the year and in my opinion, being with people when it’s not a holiday actually means more than being with them on holidays. It just seems less ‘forced’ and that’s kind of why I essentially ’quit’ Christmas but that’s a rant for another day (probably in about 3 1/2 weeks I’ll have one).
Alright, I’m tired and have yet more interviews to deal with tomorrow so I’m going to sleep… I thought about going on about the history of Thanksgiving and the Native Americans and all that but yea, I don’t really feel like it right now. Plus, I’m looking forward to seeing my mom’s new house and watching football and eating a good home cooked meal for the first time in awhile. That’s just lunch though…. I’d be more than happy to swing over to someone else’s in the evening for more home cooked food…. or even stopping somewhere and giving out food to some that can’t afford it that day. Well, unless I’ve had too much beer or wine. In that case, I’ll just sleep on her couch. This is my mother, after all, so she better do what I tell her. 
Either way, as of right now, life is still pretty fucking good no matter how fucked up it seems to get. Enjoy it while you can.
P.S…. Funny conversation I overheard on the CTA the other day… a couple of people were talking about how Thanksgiving is coming up soon this year and the second person said “I know, it came early this year for some reason.” Um…. I’m pretty sure it falls on the same week every year. Now, the 4th of July, on the other hand, well, you never know what date that holiday will fall on. Every year it’s a shocker.
