Minimalist Thanksgiving

“Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go… “ 

In our one-room country school, we had learned every word of at least seven verses of that nostalgic song.  But my family only had to go across the road to get to our grandmother’s house where we enjoyed roasted duck and other wonderful foods.

More traditions were added through the years.  Like the year that we opened our Christmas tree farm...  Bob’s family really wanted to participate on opening day - which was the day after Thanksgiving - and so it was determined that our family dinner would be that evening.  One of the in-laws took charge of the turkey at the house while Bob and I handled the tree farm operation and his siblings hung out in the wreath shed crafting their own original creations.  At closing time, we all headed back to the house to enjoy the meal that was waiting for us.  The schedule was complicated, but we made it work - for probably a dozen years - because so many were willing to help.

In recent years I have come to realize that the first Thanksgiving story was not as idyllic as I used to think - and that the “relationships” between the “pilgrims and Indians” were far from equitable.  Similar observations could be made about many long-standing celebrations - that the reality usually contains both good and not-so-good.  

I struggle to figure out how to handle such traditions that are fraught with less than ideal components.  At this moment in time, I guess I just try to find the good that I can and to focus on gratitude.  

Our kids all needed to be elsewhere today so we enjoyed a quiet day at home -  complete with turkey pot pies!  Not even kidding.  A minimalist Thanksgiving.  Simple and moderate.

This was not our first non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  There was another - 34 years ago.  We were living in the Dominican Republic where we taught in an English school. Since most of the staff and students were Americans, the school calendar gave us all the day off to celebrate Thanksgiving and the day after.  The long weekend seemed the perfect time to go to our favorite beach.  So we loaded our family of five onto a bus for the 90-minute trip to the north shore.  

It was obvious there would be no turkey and stuffing and gravy in the lovely little town of Sosua.  When lunch time came we took a break and gathered round the little table in our hotel room for our gourmet meal… of crackers and cheese … and a few Dominican snacks we had just discovered.  Nice and simple.  Of course we were hungry again by nightfall and celebrated again at the little rooftop pizza place.  

It’s only partly about the food. 

I don’t need to have all of those yummy traditional dishes in order to feel thankful.

I certainly don’t need to gorge myself - and then regret it in the coming days.

And I don’t really enjoy the schedule or the travel being so complicated.

So yes, the ideas of simplicity and moderation sound really good to me.

Less food, less stress, no less thankful.