"Life's too short to sweat the small stuff..."

Well, it's over... I don't know why I've never been a fan of Thanksgiving.... It means well; we need to be thankful for our blessings. But we all know that these good intentioned holidays end up totally different than what was envisioned years ago. Thanksgiving for many is just 'Turkey Day,' a day to spend with your family whether you like them or not. And we cook for hours, stuff ourselves until we're miserable, watch football, and reminisce. But if we don't do all of that, then we feel less of an American... less of a person.... and less respectable. I come from a dysfunctional family, of which most are I guess. My father was super difficult to deal with, so growing up, I tried to stay gone at my friend's houses as much and as long as possible. There was SO much friction at the dinner table that we all said small talk until we were through, and then left as soon as we could. And I guess the dysfunction sort of continues. And since I'm divorced, the fact that my children are not with me each year makes it worse. Today we were supposed to go to my brother's house, but as I was getting ready to leave, he called to say his oven just burned out, so we opted to go to my sister's house, which set us late and discombobulated... And her daughter's husband wanted to bring the turkey this year, which has usually been my responsibility. And he wanted to cook it his way - a special ordered organic turkey, with carrots and thyme inside, instead of dressing...

But, hey, I'm a flexible person, so okay. And it all turned out fine.

But I'm still glad the next Thanksgiving is a year away...