Thanksgiving

It's 2016 and I am writing a blog post about Thanksgiving.  Why is that worth mentioning?  Well, I have never really been a huge fan of the holiday and I will get to the reasons why.  I also want to look at why Thanksgiving is a thing.  Shall we?

Gobble gobble

For the last 2 years, I have actively made Thanksgiving a "decorated" holiday.  What does that mean?  Well, thanks to the magnificence that is Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, I always decorated for Halloween in September and then straight to Christmas decor on November 1st.  This was always fine by me because I didn't get Thanksgiving.  It wasn't a great holiday to me.  It was just a Thursday with an earlier dinner.

Why?

Well, at a very young age, I poured a bowl of Cap'n Crunch that was probably a bit too big for me on Thanksgiving morning.  I didn't finish it.  My dad made me put it in the fridge and told me I had to finish that soggy bowl of mush before participating in Thanksgiving dinner.  That was Thanksgiving's strike 1.

Strike 2 came as an adult when I got a rare stomach virus the night before Thanksgiving.  I was sick for months and lost dozens of pounds.  It was terrifying.  I was in and out of hospitals.  Very scary stuff.  That kind of spoils the day.

Strike 3 is philosophical.  I feel like you should be thankful for your shit every day and not just one Thursday in November.  I apply the same reasoning to Valentine's Day.  It proves my point even further that Corporate America has turned Thanksgiving into early Black Friday and that is total bullshit.

Any way, those are three strong reasons why I never celebrated wholeheartedly.  That changed last year because my wife wanted to buy a little decoration.  It was on sale and very cute.  It's the bird pictured below:

We got it but obviously needed more so we headed to the 99 cent store to get some cheap stuff to justify not throwing Christmas lights up right away.  Here, have some more photos of my stuff...

So, it's not a lot, but it is symbolic of the holiday and honestly, it makes the Christmas season more special.

I have gotten over the Cap'n Crunch incident except that I like to tell the story and ham it up as much as possible.  I have obviously put back on all my weight and some of yours so the virus isn't an issue anymore.  I still stand by the fact that you should be grateful 365 days a year and not just this Thursday.  That being said, it's a day that you absolutely should spend time with loved ones.  I know people that have a tradition of going to Disneyland or a movie.  I know people that like to do a family hike.  I know people that just enjoy eating good food with good friends and family.

Those are great ways to celebrate your thankfulness but not excuses to forget about it the rest of the year.  The 1st Thanksgiving was in 1621 when the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast but it was not until 1863 that it became an American holiday.  Now we have feasts and parades and shopping shopping shopping.

None of that really matters though.  Have a meal.  Talk with your loved ones.  Smile.

If I can accept the holiday, you can too.  Hell, it becomes a two day extravaganza for me because we host "Techsgiving" the following day.  The point is that we get together and cherish that moment and yes, my mother raised me with open arms, so if you don't have a place to go this holiday season, we can ALWAYS add a chair.

Be thankful.  Even in 2016, the shittiest year on record for our 1st world problems that is slowly turning into the scariest year on record for the United States of America, you can still be thankful.

Please be kind this Thursday and please don't be a dick to those forced to work for corporate greed.  They're just trying to get by and yes, it often is not a choice.  Many retail employers today force ALL employees to either work Thursday or become unemployed.

Eat turkey.  Drink wine. Smile.  Be thankful. Laugh.  Cheer.  Enjoy.

Then on Friday, forget all that as you punch your way to the sales rack!