Thanksgiving is thought of as a wonderful day that’s spent giving thanks with friends and family, as well as sharing a delicious cornucopia of foods and fond thoughts about the past, present and future.
However, the truth is that the stereotypical image of peaceful Thanksgiving dinners that Hallmark movies depict is far from what most of us experience on the fourth Thursday in November.
First of all — between the food, the family members and, if you’re part of one of those overachieving families, activities — a lot of logistics go into orchestrating Thanksgiving Day. For many, the day starts with watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which serves as the relaxing prelude for the rush of activities about to unfold.
Once the parade ends, the phone rings with relatives checking in on the progress of the meal — meaning that you better get started on the preparations. Usually, that involves my mother and father yelling at me to help, then hunting for my brother and sister who always seem to go missing during the cooking process.
One thing we can certainly be thankful for is all the bickering that goes on in the house that day. Our two-story home seems to become a one-room schoolhouse with how many times we run into one another.
Finally, after several hours spent slaving over dinner, the family arrives, and we all sit down and enjoy every last bit of that delicious meal. Making a Thanksgiving meal is not anything to be taken lightly, by the way. From years watching my folks prepare and from the last few years helping out myself, it certainly is a trying time.
In addition, it can be a dangerous task, as an article from the Chicago Tribune said the average property loss from a Thanksgiving Day dinner fire is $14,500. That bird can cause a lot more damage than we may think.
My point with all of this is that Thanksgiving Day is one of the few days out of the year where families come together to celebrate.
Whether you have relatives who live just a town away or halfway across the country, family members traverse the country to be together, and that says something.
Regardless of the endless bickering that may go on during the day and whether or not somebody burned the pumpkin pie, you’re all together, and that is something to give thanks for in and of itself.
I think the mainstream view of Thanksgiving Day is not wrong; the day is about giving thanks. The difference is that what we should really give thanks for is just the fact that we have all these family and friends to gather together with, even if we fight all the time.
Sure, my siblings may be annoying, and when you throw my cousins in there, it becomes a scene for the ages, but that is what’s great about it.
There is something thrilling about having your face pushed into a slice of pumpkin pie; for the record, it tastes better that way. Sure, in an ideal world, the holiday would be spent having a nice, relaxing and peaceful meal with family while talking about this, that and other things, but let’s be honest: Where’s the fun in that?
Therefore, here are my sincerest wishes that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day weekend. I’m sure none of you will complain about having the extra few days off to recuperate before the start of finals, which are just around the corner. I hope you all slept off your wonderful food comas that surely arrived with the beginning of the holiday season.
Meanwhile, for those of you who do not really care for Thanksgiving Day, fear not: The most wonderful day of the year is less than a month away!
