I’ve always thought that almost all holidays are pretty much pointless (except for the obvious time off from work). I don’t need a special day on the calendar to remind me that a battle was fought or a soldier died. I don’t need a special month on the calendar to remind me of the contributions of black people. I don’t need a certain 40 days designated to remember that Jesus died for us.
That being said, I do immensely enjoy Christmas. Although I’ve always known what Christmas means religiously, after I was about 16 I didn’t really care for the rest of the season until I had kids of my own. (I’ll post more on that later in the season.)
Out of all of the holidays ever created, I think that Thanksgiving is the worst. Don’t think that statement means that I’m unthankful. I am certainly thankful for everything . . . from the big deal things like my wife, children and job to the little things like the CVS Extrabucks in my wallet and the coupons that Mr. Pizza sent me in the mail yesterday. I just don’t think we should set aside a day to be thankful. In some ways, forcing people to be thankful that one day of the year makes them apathetic the rest of the year.
As for the traditions and rituals themselves, I usually don’t care to eat food prepared by people who I barely know (like extended family members who I was forced to spend Thanksgiving with as a child). In fact, when I was younger I looked for excuses to get out of going to church pot-lucks and I currently refuse to participate in covered dish activities at work. Also, if I’m not at work, I don’t want to see turkey unless we go somewhere like Firehouse Subs or McAllister’s Deli because 90% of the time I take a turkey sandwich for lunch.
As for the family, my mother is gone, my dad is married to a Jehovah’s Witness (and out of respect for his wife no longer observes holidays_ and Kimberlie’s parents aren’t in the picture. So all that is left is extended family, who I only see around funerals and um . . . things like Thanksgiving. When I was in college, I remember hiding out in my room during the whole meal trolling AOL to find someone to chat with so I wouldn’t have to go downstairs.
So up until now, we’ve always done the traditional Thanksgiving thing because my mother was around to pretty much hold everyone together. Last year, as she was falling victim to cancer, I even hosted the event at my house. I just hope that wasn’t a “passing of the torch” type thing because I am blowing out the flame.
This year, we plan to do something completely different. After Kimberlie gets off of work (she works every holiday except for Christmas), we are going to go out to eat. We might search for traditional Thanksgiving food at some buffet like Ryan’s or we might do something completely different.
There isn’t a shortage of invitations. We’ve been invited to four different Thanksgivings — 3 different extended families and 1 friend. But we have politely refused them all and we are going to have a nice meal out — without having to cook or entertain or wash the dishes or be somewhere at a certain time to eat food we don’t like with people we don’t like. And then, we will come home and go to bed so that I can get up in the wee hours of the morning Friday and get a good deal on a new drill at Lowe’s.
The worst part about the entire thing is when people ask what we are doing for Thanksgiving and we tell them our plans. The heavens open up and the pity party rains down. “Oh that poor Davis family.” It’s like I’m committing a crime or something by deviating from tradition. Surely if there weren’t others like us, the restaurants wouldn’t be open.
I’m not sure if we are establishing a new tradition this year. If the kids were older, I would take them and volunteer somewhere feeding the less fortunate. I’ve always wanted to do something like that, but seeing how I am day care on Thanksgiving, it’s not happening with a 2 year old.
Since I’m approaching 800 words in this blog post rant, I’ll end it now. I’m sure I’ll post something before then, but anyway, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
