Pilgrims, Indians, Corn, and Pumpkin Pie Fights

Thanksgiving (As a Holiday) is the time of year that families all across the country get together and collectively eat dinner. This can be the kind of dinner that you eat at Noon, or the kind of dinner that you eat at 6pm (to us southerners, that would be supper, but I digress). Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Case in point, My Family.

My family has always been able to get together on a fairly regular basis for all of the standard (read: waspy) holiday gatherings. There are the expected dates, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Birthday Milestones. Then, there are the unexpected times–4th of July, Mother’s Day, ANY Birthday, and even yearly at the beach for vacation. We all live within a 45 minute realm of each other, so we have always been able to be large parts of each others’ lives. I loved this as a child, when I was naieve enough to think that all the adults were in the other room having civilized discussions over coffe and pie. While they may have been speaking in civil tones, I am now all too aware of the underlying tension that has come to accompany holiday gatherings with my family.

Snarky. That is just one word that I can use to describe my family during the holiday planning process. I could use a long list of other words, but I think that will suffice, not to mention that it is much nicer! Without fail, a few weeks before said holiday is slated to occur, my family will inevitably start the hem-haw game of trying to make plans without hurting anyone else’s feelings. This means that 50 year old women will call each other and try to feel out the situation in a very round about manner. This is incredibly annoying! But no one ever claimed that my family ever did anything direct and to the point. Hell, by the way I was brought up, I should naturally assume that the only way to get from point A to point B is in a circle! So, just to recap, everyone is tiptoeing around trying to make plans without upsetting anyone. All the while we all know that at least one person, if not more, will be offended.

This year, is no exception. My immediate family has chosen to spend the holiday with my in-laws. In a different town. Far away from the Snarkiness. I don’t have to worry about keeping my frustration all bottled up for one afternoon, only to be throwing pumpkin pies in their face–as Bobby Collins said, “On the inside.”

Happy Thanksgiving.  Enjoy your time with your family, be it the family you were born into, or the family you choose.  Either way, they are all just as important to you as you want them to be.