Thanksgiving Musings....

To be perfectly honest, what I'm really doing is avoiding cleaning the kitchen, bathrooms, and upstairs hallway, which are the remaining areas of the house that I haven't yet decluttered, swept, mopped, dusted, or otherwise beautified to prepare for my Mom & Stepdad's arrival tomorrow. I'm not really one to muse about Thanksgiving - it's definitely toward the bottom of my favorite holiday list. Xmas has got the obvious appeal - presents, carols, cookies, presents, the kids' excitement as it gets closer to the big day and they get to see what they got from the big guy, ornaments, presents. You understand what I mean. Then there is Halloween - candy and the opportunity to scare little kids - that's just fabu. Easter - more candy - can't really argue with the appeal of that one. 4th of July has fireworks - totally cool. But Thanksgiving - what does it really have going for it?


The dinner - it's ALL about the dinner. And that's my big problem. First of all, I'm not a big cook. I don't enjoy it in the least. If left to my natural tendencies, I'll figure out the absolute easiest way to get a healthy meal pulled together, even if it makes no sense at all to anyone else. A low fat cheese stick and an apple? Dinner is served! Unfortunately, unless there is a market for a live action version of the Peanuts Thankgiving starring my family, I don't think a platter full of cheese sticks and apple slices is going to cut it. Which is unfortunate, as I do a mean Snoopy dance....


Anyway, so I'm not a cook, which makes hosting the holiday an issue for me (btw, I'm hosting this year, which is a clear sign that my parents love me (ok, that they love the grandchildren...), as I know they aren't coming for the food). But on top of it, I'm just not all that into food in general. Sure, I enjoy a fine meal when one is presented to me, with no effort on my part. But if I woke up tomorrow and was told that there would be no more eating? That I could get optimal nutrition (really, not a snake oil scam, but it would really work) from a pill? Whaaaa Hooooo! Count me in! Seriously, think about it! No eathing == no cooking == no dirty dishes == no cleaning up == more time to do stuff I actually ENJOY! And we could turn the kitchen into a big workout room - I wouldn't have to share my space with the kids playroom (and therefore I'd no longer have to threaten them with death if one of their friends touches my weights or tries to do a flip off my roman chair). The benefits to this no eating thing really are incredible, once you start thinking about it.

All that said, I am looking forward to the long weekend, even if I'll be spending much of it in, ugh, the kitchen. My folks will be here, and my kids are about to EXPLODE with excitement at the notion of seeing Grandma and Papa. We are planning some fun activities with them that I'm looking forward to (some walks in the Fells, around Horn Pond, a tour of the North End, etc.), and I enjoy just hanging out with them. So it will be all good in the end.

Of course, it would be better if we could sit down to a plate loaded high with the perfect blend of protein/carb/fat pills, but, I'll deal.