I’ll be spending this Thanksgiving alone this year. I just got my first full-time job in four years. And unfortunately, I have to work on Thanksgiving this year while my wife is going to see her family in Minnesota. Yes, it sucks for all of the obvious reasons. But it’s also something I’m secretly looking forward to (well, not so secretly since this is on the internet).
Why Thanksgiving alone sucks
No family. I won’t be around the people I’m thankful for. I can’t relive my favorite memories with relatives and create new ones. I won’t be able to meet new relatives. And I won’t be able to gossip about my least favorite relatives with my most favorite ones.
No coma-inducing amount of food. This is the worst part. No sweet potato pie. No stuffing. No mac and cheese.
Why I’m looking forward to it
No family. As in no family drama. Bummer.
No traveling. Usually, the holiday season for my family includes at least 12 hours or more of travel for us. We’re either driving 12 hours one way to North Carolina or six hours one way to Minnesota. Then once we get to our destination we’re driving at least another four or five hours to see more friends and family around the state. This holiday season, I’m pumped to be stationary.
I’m excited about eating less food. I usually end Thanksgiving weekend looking more like a stuffed turkey than the one I ate. There’s so much food, and it usually all looks and tastes amazing. And because I’m not particularly eager to waste food I end up eating way more than I should. So this Thanksgiving alone, I’ll probably cook one of my favorite meals (pretty much anything deep-fried) and be content without the extra calories and leftovers.
Quiet time. It will definitely suck to be home alone on a holiday. But as active dads, alone time is something that we rarely see. And when we do, it’s usually while we’re cleaning, cutting the grass, or fixing something around the house. Even after the kids go to sleep we’re usually exhausted and only have a couple of hours before it’s time for bed. So what I’m looking forward to more than anything is the day or two that I’ll have some quiet free time to myself. It’s really hard to see the picture from inside the frame. So instead of getting annoyed with my wife and son after 12 hours of being in the car with them, I’ll be at home reflecting on how much I’m grateful to have them in my life.
Photo: © WONG SZE FEI / Adobe Stock.
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