A Tale of Two Turkeys

Odd how holidays can turn out.

I don't really celebrate holidays. Career choices have made it impractical to get too hung up on dates. It's Thanksgiving Day? In our family someone is likely to be working or on the other side of the planet. Requiring someone to show up at the ancestral dinner table for a holiday, like expecting someone home for a family supper, as a sign of love and affection is just begging for heartache cause it ain't happening.

Merv is the opposite. Everyone goes to Merv's for the holidays. He loves having multiple generations (four, at last count) gathered around his table for a traditional feast. He also shows up on time for supper. Everyone brings friends as extra guests. There's usually a Children's Table. There are decorations and special recipes.

Conventional wisdom would dictate that I'm going to be miserable this weekend and he will be basking in the glow of familial love. Conventional wisdom would be wrong.

I'm having a ball. I cook and eat what I want, when I want. We may go out. We may stay home. Zelda is dropping by for the night before she flies out on vacation. When she gets back next week we'll go out for BBQ as a family. We're all enjoying ourselves, doing things we want to do, and have something on the schedule for each day that we're looking forward to.

So far Beth has fought with Merv for the last six days, their youngest son for the last four, and her Mother-in-Law for the last two. Her Daughter-in-Law in due in tomorrow to be next at bat. Suggest that maybe a four generation feast is a little too much pressure with everything else that's going on?

You can't cancel Thanksgiving! It's a tradition!! We always do it this way!!!

Isn't it a good idea to stop traditions when they're making everyone miserable?

And that's why we're having grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken chili at our house for Thanksgiving.