A hollow turkey

It’s the Monday before Thanksgiving. I guess I should be thankful,
because it’s the right thing to do this time of year. Certainly I have plenty
to be thankful for. Sorry, but things are not as they should be.
Part of life as I have known it is that this is panic time. There is so
much to do that I won’t get it all done. There’s a pace that’s extra quick.
While it may be a stress attack, it also helps clean out the capillaries.
From some perspectives, it’s exhilarating.
Trouble is, I’m not there.
We have early deadlines for the newspapers.
Your copy of the News Leader went to
bed early this week, presuming all went as
planned. That is usually plenty of cause for
panic. Yes, as I write this, we have some more
hurdles to jump, but most of them are well
in the rear view mirror. Our able and mature
staff has handled the challenges of putting
out early newspapers with few problems, at
least to this point.
There is an extra set of concerns usually
going on. We normally will be hitting the
highway as soon as we get the Thanksgiving
papers gone to visit Marilyn’s family in South
Carolina. That adds a layer of pressure and
some extra responsibilities, to get things
packed and everything situated for a few days out-of-town.
Well, we’re not going to S.C. this year. I guess I should be thankful that
I don’t have that to worry about. It doesn’t seem right, somehow.
The main reason we’re not going is our daughters will both be out-oftown.
I guess I should be extra thankful about that in some ways. Kelly
has been on an archeological dig in Mississippi for the past three months.
Ashley will be flying to Mississippi to meet her and they will be taking
an extra turn to Texas and they will be spending the holiday with my
mother before coming home. I am thrilled that they will be able to spend
that time together, as we don’t see my mother often enough. I’m saddened
that Marilyn and I won’t be there.
Normally, if we’re not going to S.C., and we almost always go to S.C.,
we would be preparing Thanksgiving dinner at the house. It’s a family
time as the girls all pitch in to do the various jobs to make the big Turkey
Day dinner a success. Even when we go to S.C., normally Kelly will figure
out a way that we fix a big dinner before or after.
Marilyn and I have reached an age where our metabolism is staring to
work against us. It seems to take weeks for us to get past sins of the diet,
and we are learning there is a heavy price to pay for overindulgences on
days like Thanksgiving.
Needless to say, there is no pressure for us to get a big meal together
for the family. I’m not sure where we will end up on Thanksgiving.
Probably won’t be a Lean Cuisine frozen turkey dinner, but we won’t be
overrun with tempting leftovers for the next two weeks, either. I guess I
should be thankful.
I have great confidence that I won’t have competition for the HD TV
when the football comes on. Normally Turkey Day football is an unchallenged
right, but I have heard women complain about having to watch
football all day. There’s another TV in the bedroom and for once, the male
cat and I can out-vote the females.
Traditionally, the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys host games
on Thanksgiving. Seeing Dallas win is usually a cause for celebration
in my house. In recent years Detroit has gotten slaughtered in the early
game, though this year the Detroit-Green Bay game could be the best
game of the day. That’s something to celebrate, isn’t it?
Dallas and the New York Jets is not one of those marquee match-ups.
It’s a bit scary as the Jets knocked off Pittsburgh Sunday, but it’s one of
those games Dallas can only lose as they should handle the Jets easily.
The real turkey of a game could be the closer on NFL Network. If the
Colts play halfway to their potential, they should easily topple the crippled
Falcons. Like the Jets, the Colts haven’t exactly played as expected
lately, so it might be a game.
Still, it looks to be a traditional day in that I probably will drift off
during a not very exciting match-up sometime during the day.
It’s going to be a bit of a sad day for what I’ll be missing.
On reflection, some of the important things that we have: we continue
to have full bellies, mortgage payments that are up to date, body parts
that work at close to their original factory condition in most cases, a comfortable
home, two beautiful children who are leading good lives, wonderful
relationships with each other, and a future that is so bright.
Maybe it won’t be a traditional holiday with all of the trappings of the
season, but we can take joy in the abundance of good things we do have.