Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!*

I love remember this day from when we were kids. After a half day at school, we'd sprint home from the bus stop (cracking ice, if there was any) and race into the house. Dad would be home already, which was unusual because he was never home during the weekday. Mom would be yelling at us to get out of her kitchen and stop picking at the stuffing. She made it seem like she was annoyed, but we all know she loved it. The house would already be warm, busy, smelling like cooking. Grandma and Grandpa would be visiting up from the south (you know, that area below the Mason-Dixon line). A fire would be going and everyone would be totally off the walls just from the idea of Thanksgiving.

As we got older, it meant that Andy or Ellen would be home from college, which was always exciting. We would rush out to the driveway when they pulled up and feel grateful to drag their dirty laundry into the house (or, in Andy's case, it was more like picking up a sock from the front seat, a tee-shirt from the trunk). They seemed older each time. I guess they probably thought the same about the three of us.

There would be talk of strategy: do you eat a lot the day before to stretch the stomach, or do you starve yourself to be really good and ready to stuff your face the next day. It was a tough decision. I'm a starve-yourself-the-day before kind of girl, myself. Well, not really. In theory I am, but - let's be honest - I can't really ever go more than a few hours without eating. Realistically, I would just have a small breakfast the morning of Thanksgiving.

One year, we secretly planned for Diana to come home and surprise mom. I will never, ever forget the look on mom's face. She was so surprised and happy that she started crying. Sneaky us! I loved coming home from college - the air smells so good on the Cape, and the stars are so bright. Nothing is like that first step out of the car, home for Thanksgiving, during freshman year of college. Later, it was always just a few days after the Philly marathon. The whole week seemed like a treat: the marathon, the post-marathon laziness, the eating, the family. My first Thanksgiving away from home was in Peru. I made stuffing from scratch and we had all of our Peruvian friends over after work that day. And our British friend. First year of law school I didn't go home and was invited to an east coast transplant/orphan Thanksgiving dinner. Last year was in D.C. (and Mom did a Second Thanksgiving at home a few weeks after that!). This year, Denver.

Wherever you are, be thankful.

*This message is one day early because I probably won't have internet tomorrow.