Oh hi. How was your holiday? Was it turkey-rific? Pie-tastic? Food-nomenal? Yeah. Mine too.
I must confess, and even issue a warning for some people (the “anti-holiday” people. The ones who get angry at the sight of lights strung on rooftops in early December. The ones who flinch at every “fa la la la la…”), that I am very “pro” holidays. I think I’ve already mentioned my love for all things Christmas (which I’m happy to apologize for right up until the 4th Thursday of November, but we’re officially in ‘the season’ now so Jingle Bells, baby!!!) but I love Thanksgiving too. Thanksgiving is just like Christmas but without gifts! Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE me the gift giving! That’s one of my very favorite things about this time of year: the permission to give any gift I want to any loved one I want! You can’t imagine the amount of time and energy I spend the rest of the year coming up with excuses to gift the gifts I find and want to gift. “Here, Queenie, is a very cool thing I am giving you because today is the 16 week anniversary of that one time you said I looked cute in these pants!”
EX-HAUSTING!
But a lot of people get freaked out by the gifts thing. So Thanksgiving is excellent because you get the people and the food and the fun and the general sense of “Whee!!!” without the stress from those who find gifting stressful.
And there’s pie.
However, much as I loved the holiday weekend I am sorry about the big lack of posts. I had PLANNED to do a post on Wednesday. One could say even a solicited post. A favorite blogger of mine issued a challenge on that pre-holiday-day: give thanks for the hard, bad or otherwise “challenging” things! (and then write about it. In a blog. You see where I’m goin’ with this...) I was ALL ABOUT this challenge. Because LO! A CHALLENGE! PROFERRED INSPIRATION – NOW GO!
Turns out, though, that it was harder than I figured.
I was totally without idea! Couldn’t come up with any kind of silver lining for things like the economy or flea infestations or my overly-huge rear. (“I give thanks for my big butt, because if this economy keeps tanking I might be able to use my pants as a tent! Thereby giving easier access to the fleas...?”) I wracked my brain for ideas and came up empty handed. (keeping in mind that Wednesday was the all-time least productive work day I’ve had since last December 24th. As a whole the only benefit in my being at work at all was the way my mass kept the building from becoming airborne and floating off into the sky. And YOUR WELCOME.)
Where was I? Oh right – no ideas. So distracted was I by the impending pie and upcoming green bean casserole that no productive thought could survive the oxygen-free atmosphere.
Then suddenly it was Thanksgiving and just an AWESOME day! Food and games and family and conversations and werewolves (don’t ask) and I was finally struck with that inspiration that had been eluding me all the previous day.
And so I would like to give thanks for my single status! Because even though it means that I came home to an empty (save for cats) house and had to make my food all by myself and had nobody with which to share the joy of the Kermit the Frog parade balloon or the arrival of Santa Clause, I ALSO did not have to figure out how to juggle the gatherings of 2 (or more!) sets of family and parents and obligations. I didn’t have to have 2, or 3, or 11 Thanksgiving meals throughout the weekend to satisfy all the invitations.
To be honest, one of the things that I COMPLETELY DREAD about the idea of being partnered is the hassle of having to share my life with someone else’s family. What do I do on Christmas? I open presents with my parents and go to the gathering of my family. Period. The End. I don’t have to go to my family’s house one year and his family’s house the next year. I don’t have to EVER spend my beloved holidays with people who are not MY people. I can’t even fathom the idea of spending Christmas with anyone other than my very own family. In almost 40 years I’ve never had to. It would seem like not having Christmas at all!
So, even though the goal of this whole blog is the finding of a partner, on the holidays I revel in my independence and the complete LACK of partner complications. My big hope is to find that amazing, single guy who’s entire family was lost at sea. (fingers crossed!)
Even though it’s practically a week too late, I’d still love to pass on the suggestion for everyone to look for that challenging thing that they normally consider bad news and find a way to give thanks for even that. Consider it the first step of this newest holiday season.
And then? Have Pie. Happy Belated Thanksgiving, everybody!
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