Let Christmas Begin...

...That's my Dad :.)

Thanksgiving...don't really need it.

I am just not into this holiday. I just can't summon the enthusiasm to go all out. When I was in my twenties I struggled with concepts of native american genocide brought by the "Europeans" of those days. Other years I struggled with the rigidity of family dinners held in the past - exactly the same menu for 20 years, same conversations etc... Later I tried to be the person who holds Thanksgiving and invites people who have nowhere else to go. I appreciate the spirit of the holiday - gratitude and thankfulness - but I think we need to practice those every day.

Now I think we've found an angle of repose. Since B's family has their dinner on the Friday after Thanksgiving, we stay home. We buy a turkey and cook it for the meat. We just enjoy a day together as a family.

In all honesty I consider the best part of Thanksgiving is that it heralds the start of the Christmas season. I think our emerging family tradition is to start the xmas decorating on Thanksgiving. Today we hung paper garlands around the house and brought out all the figurines - angels, xmas decorations from preschool art projects, silk flowers in xmas colors, candle holders, pine cones, and so on. It was one of the best days of the year. If all Thanksgivings are like this one - maybe you don't need to give up hope on me yet.