abundance

Over the river and through the woods to Boston Market we go?

So it's not exactly grandmother’s house. But it’s the closest many of us get these days. And they do serve up one tasty traditional Thanksgiving meal. Since moving to Sarasota, seven years ago, I’ve taken advantage of the opportunity to indulge myself in their holiday meal, at times inviting another single life traveler with a tray to join me.

A time or two, I’ve been welcomed to a so-called orphans' Thanksgiving, where kind souls gather up a few of us strays and open up their home for a feast. Always a pleasant and comforting way to spend the day. As the song goes: if you can't be with the one you love; love the one(s) you're with. I invest in an outrageous desert to up my chances of being asked back.

When I am most lucky--as I will be this year--my close friends fly down from New Jersey to their condo in Fort Myers Beach, and I joyfully make the 4- hour round-trip to spend some quality time with “family” as my two offspring are flung far and world-wide.

That’s not to say I don’t miss my family, those still here and those long gone. Especially now. Thanksgiving has always ranked as my favorite holiday for several reasons:

It’s a uniquely American holiday. Regardless that the story isn’t the fairytale we were fed as children.

It never hurts to focus on that for which we chose to be grateful.

It’s all about the food, my favorite expression of abundance. Whether one chooses turkey or tofurky, the meal’s the thing. And there is NOTHING about the food I'm not nuts about, especially since everyone has gone poultry skin phobic, and I claim more than my share from the dog.

My memories of the time are such mellow ones. I come from one of those large loud families stuck in their childhood roles. In other words, my adult aunts and uncles waged their childhood wars their whole lives, putting any extended family gathering in jeopardy of imploding--except for Thanksgiving. I guess I’ll never know why. Not that it matters much anymore.

So among the things I am grateful for on Thanksgiving are the warm feelings I carry into this brief respite from the everyday. The chance to share it with those I cherish is a bonus.