Can I get something off of my chest real quick? Let me rephrase that. I’m going to get something off of my chest real quick.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
And I’m not ashamed to say it. Now that we’ve cleared the air, I’m going to fire off some thoughts on the matter.
1. I’ve seen some memes circulating — about Thanksgiving not being a fan favorite, because it doesn’t have any decent, holiday-specific songs (“bangers” as they’ve called them). While I’m 100% on board with the fact that we could use a few more Thanksgiving smash hits, I also think it’s pretty sick that we get to celebrate a holiday in its untampered-with, raw form. Nothing but the day as she comes. Name one other major holiday that doesn’t have a song. 4th of July? Miley Cyrus & Katy Perry covered that problem back in ‘09. Christmas? Nat King Cole. Kelly Clarkson. Michael Bublé. I’m really not sure why I even felt the need to bring this one up. Valentines Day? Ummm, ever heard of a love song? Hanukkah? Adam Sandler has that one locked & loaded for us. Arbor Day? I know you’ve listened to The Lorax soundtrack.
Sure, Thanksgiving has the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving discography & Jimmy Fallon’s new track (thanks, Jimmy), and maybe that should be enough for me. But I can’t help but think of all of the potential here.
Walk with me.
The essence of fall in the air. Gratitude. Uncomfortable conversations with your creepy uncle (all of my uncles are cool. This is just for you to feel included.). The intricacies of cranberry sauce. Political arguments. Hand turkeys. I could go on for years about the lyrical topics we have to work with.
I just see a vision for this soundtrack that hasn’t quite been tapped into yet. And I really thought the “greens, beans, potatoes, tomatoes” lady was going to get the momentum going for us back in 2016. It stirred up some attention, no doubt. But where was the capitalization? Nowhere to be found. Which I kind of adore. It was a clean-cut, solo act that everyone could gather around & enjoy.
Over-saturated markets are a pet peeve of mine, so forgive me for the tangent, but holiday music is like a thin layer of butter on a waffle. I’d rather have one really good, overflowing divot of butter than an entire waffle smeared with a sorrily scant amount. That one, decadent bite is always worth it. And that’s what “Beans, Greens, Potatoes” by Sirealz was — the chunk of butter that you’ve been waiting the whole waffle for. Nobody else mattered but her. All tastebuds & ears were on her. That came out wrong.
I forgot I was making a list.
2. Sitting at the kids table is an honor & an escape all at once. Double whammy.
- You get to be the most popular kid at the table.
- You get to make continuous, unfiltered potty talk without consequences over a meal instead of muscle your way through another conversation about Trump’s new migration tariffs.
- You get to whisper in the kids ears to go ask the big adults if “we can have dessert yet”, so they can take action & do the heavy lifting to keep the party going.
- Unbeatable.
3. I’ve decided I don’t have a favorite Thanksgiving food. All of it. Right? Except turkey. It’s just a decorative focal point, so people can remember what’s happening.
4. Thank god they chose the bald eagle over the turkey for our national bird. Great foresight.
5. Ummm, gratitude. I was firing off lovey-dovey, Shakespearean notes of thankfulness to my coworkers all day yesterday & no one could stop me. A mean, lean, Thanksgiving Machine, I was. And you know how the gurus say spreading goodness unto others makes you feel better? Well, they’re right. Hope you’ve already been trying your hand in that arena, but if you haven’t been on top of your game, maybe tell someone you love them — & why. But only if you mean it. It does everyone some good… I have this theory that people that are hurting would hurt less if they got out of their head & loved on someone else for a bit. Not as a replacement for the pain, but just to snap them out of their own mind & remind them that there do, in fact, happen to be other people walking the earth besides themselves. Groundbreaking epiphany, I know.
6. Listen, you didn’t ask, but let me tell you what I brought to the function: rosemary focaccia rolls. baklava. cranberry cobbler cocktails. coffee toffee pie. I’ll just leave it there…
7. I don’t know if it’s the mashed potatoes that’ll take you to Mars, the knowingness that the autumnal atmosphere ends after this day, or something inexplicable in the air that Delaney makes into a bigger ordeal than it is (probably); but there’s something about Thanksgiving that makes me take the moments in fully. Time passes slow, but not because I’m not enjoying myself. It passes slow, because I can’t help but take in the sights, smells, tastes, hugs, & conversations in anything but a wholehearted manner. And I’m still not quite sure why. Kind of magic, if you ask me.
- I don’t meditate, but I think if they had a Thanksgiving meditation, I’d jive with it. Because whatever they put in this holiday obviously affects me in a spiritually chemical manner.
I wish I could give more points with less words, but, unfortunately, that’s not how this inconsistent, amateur blogger rolls. Words overfloweth in my courts — sometimes for better, but usually for the sake of draining my thoughts so I’m able to sleep (& for wasting time [I’m really good at it]). Legend has it I once sent a 17 minute audio message to my sister. I’ll deny it til the day I die.
In conclusion, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. And while I can’t force it to be yours, I certainly do hope today was chock-full of good people, good moments, good food, insane amounts of laughter (even if it’s at your grandpas out-of-pocket comment that you don’t know how to respond to), & some snippets of the day where you couldn’t help but stop, do a slo-mo 360, & take in the moment. Like Ferris Bueller reminded us, “life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop & look around once in a while, you could miss it.”