Post Thanksgiving

I LOVE Thanksgiving! What could be bad? Spending time with those you love, food, gratitude — no gifts. It’s all good. The laughter is priceless.

Upon reflection, in terms of T2D, it was a very good day. Cooking the meal keeps me away from the h’ors d’oeuvres. It works every time. I can be in and out of the kitchen and still participate in the conversation without stuffing my face.

A turkey dinner with all the fixings is still my fave. NO Presidential Pardon for this bird! I had some of everything, but I didn’t overdo it. (Yea me!)  “All things in moderation,” a quote from my late dad. Choosing not having the usual array of sugar-filled desserts, this year we enjoyed a beautiful bowl of colorful, fresh fruit, thanks to my cousin, and a small, but luscious cake to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. Most importantly, everything was served up with a heaping portion of gratitude. After all it’s called THANKSgiving for a reason.

I’m thrilled to report that, for the first time EVER, I didn’t have my late-night (11 o’clock) sandwich. That’s usually a bonus — white bread (yes, you heard me right) with a little butter, turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing piled high! –my mouth’s watering, just thinking about it–but, I really wasn’t hungry, so I passed on it. I’m hoping to make this a new tradition. Normally, I have another turkey sandwich for breakfast the next morning 🙂  I can’t believe it; I passed on that too! It wasn’t a conscious decision, I just skipped it and had a normal breakfast. What’s going on???

Thanks to my daughter for not only taking home leftovers, but MOST importantly — the CAKE! It wasn’t calling my name quite yet, but we all know it would have been SCREAMING — “I’m over here!!!” — eventually. She gave it to some men who work in her building. I’m sure they were happy to have it, but not as happy as I was to get it OUT of my house.  🙂

My point? All in all Thanksgiving 2016 was a delight. Looking forward to next year’s Turkey Day! But alas, there are more holidays still to come. This is when I turn into Scrooge — my plan is to change that attitude this year.

The holidays have always presented a problem for me. Lots of reasons, but generically speaking, it’s the greed — you see and hear it everywhere. The television is a primary source of envy for kids — “Mom, look. Tommy has that!” It’s a killer for people who have young children. The whole money thing is another issue. It saddens me to watch people pouring money onto their credit cards to make their children “happy.” You want to make them happy? TAKE them somewhere. DO something WITH them — make memories. The laughter on those bonding days will stay with them forever. O.K., that’s MY feeling on the topic. Scrooge? Maybe, maybe not.

Happy Thanksgiving, dear Readers — enjoy the holidays — one day at a time.