Happy Thanksgiving.

You'd think that as an American, I would love the holiday where I get a ton of gifts, or even the holiday where you get to legally set things on fire, or even the holiday that you are expected to get so drunk you can't remember a thing. But Thanksgiving is seriously my favorite holiday.

As a kid we made a day of it... eating playing, laughing. We would play street football with my brother in law. It was usually two on three. We would run around and laugh and scream and just enjoy each other. As we've grown up, our activities have changed, but the excitement of the day is still as strong for me. We no longer play street ball, and we no longer run around and scream like children, but laughter and games are still a huge part of our gathering.

And as much fun as the family time is, nothing, and I do mean nothing, beats the meal. I wait (sometimes impatiently) for this meal. My mother spends the days prior to Thanksgiving preparing. She makes pies, and bread (without a machine-bread maker), sweets (fudge, poison bars, and oh so much more) and all of this before the big day. One the big day not only does she get up early to prepare the turkey and stuffing, she makes breakfast too... one thing I miss about growing up. When I was a kid, she would make homemade cinnamon rolls (still my favorite). When we finally all get there, we have a round of veggie trays and chips and dips and yes, we sneak the sweets too.. but we all make sure we have room for the big meal. And then we eat...

I know that medically the nap after the meal is caused by the triptaphan in the turkey, but I think it's due to all of the excitement and anticipation, and then all the food we consume! In either case, I am in heaven for the whole day.


Anyway, May your Thanksgiving be filled with much laughter and joy!