Life in the Cheese Drawer

i pulled up FB this morning while i was lying in bed and happened across a post from my friend megan who said who doesn’t like thanksgiving? a holiday that revolves around food and shopping! to which she got a ton of responses from people who don’t like thanksgiving.
good grief (as megan so aptly commented).
response 1: i don’t like the food.
rebuttal: you HAVE FOOD. some people aren’t so lucky.
response 2: i have too many places to go.
rebuttal: you have people who like you and want to see you. some people aren’t so lucky.
response 3: native americans.
rebuttal: i did a quick google search on this. there are many american indians who celebrate t-day. there are many who don’t but get together with family and friends for a big meal. 
so, i posted “I LOVE THANKSGIVING!!!!!!…” first, then wrote a whole post about why i like and am thankful for thanksgiving. i figured it would be a nice blog post, and it would give you a break on the cats (….well, on second thought, no one is getting sick of the kitties…)
why i am thankful for and like thanksgiving: 

1. i have the day off because i am lucky to have a job not in retail. 
2. i get to cook a huge meal, and i love to cook AND i love to eat. i indulge that day because it’s one day a year. 
3. i get to see my family that day. if i weren’t on awesome terms with my fam, i’d most likely get together with friends. 
4. WE HAVE FUN!!! it’s AWESOME!!! my mom might drive me nuts a little, but overall, spending time with family is one of my favorite things, if not favorite. 
5. this is just the beginning of a 4-day weekend. 4 whole days off work to goof around! once again thankful for my job. i might get a couple runs in there too, but it’s relaxing. 
6. my sister Jane MacArthur and i go shopping on black friday because why not?? it’s fun to laugh at the early birders, and when we do go, the crowds have died down enough to be tolerable. 
7. LEFTOVERS. dressing is great, pie is great, turkey is great, GRAVY. nomnomnom. 
8. have i mentioned pie yet? i really like pie. it deserves a number of its own. 
9. check out this huffpo article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/do-american-indians… he’s american indian who doesn’t celebrate thanksgiving for the historical reasons, “But I do take advantage of the holiday and get together with family and friends to share a large meal without once thinking of the Thanksgiving in 1621.” doesn’t this describe most of us? how many of us actually think of the historical reasons when we greet our friends and family and settle in for a big meal? i’m not trying to demean the historical aspect, i’m just thinking it might be time for a shift in the meaning of the holiday.
10. 10. when my family was poor as dirt, we would deliver thanksgiving meals to families who signed up for free food through our church. although we were poor and probably couldn’t put together a t-day feast of our own, we still had family to spend t-day with and still had food on our plates. i am always thankful that i have had family to spend time with and who will support me through tough times.