This year was totally different from other years. I guess it was the fact my father is not around any longer, my son is not around this year, and I am not on good terms with my brother. So I decided that my husband and I would stay home and I got some turkey and fixings at the grocery store when I was there last weekend. Granted it was just turkey cutlets and not a whole turkey which would have been way too much for just the two of us, but was turkey none the less. Anyway, at the last minute, two of our friends had invited us over to their house only to change it at the last minute and decide to go to the Holiday Buffet at a local hotel because it was too much pressure to cook at home. I ended up cooking the turkey meal I had planned for Thanksgiving on Tuesday night so it wouldn't go bad and we went to the restaurant yesterday with our friends.
I will not do that again. First it was expensive and second the food was so-so. Finally it didn't feel like a holiday. Granted they had a large variety of things including turkey and cranberries and all that stuff, but it was not the same as what I thought a holiday meal should be. To me a holiday meal should be done at home. Maybe I am just old fashioned, but that's just me. It just didn't feel the same.
So now we move on to Christmas. It's Black Friday and those crazy people are out and about shopping like fiends and spending all kinds of money on presents that are going to be given and received and then forgotten about. I guess I have gotten a little cynical in my old days. My step-father didn't celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas, the latter being a chance for him to even get out of the country, by himself. Growing up, his father was a raging alcoholic and it brought back horrible memories. He also felt that Christmas was something that people felt obliged to do when they should get gifts for their loved ones all the time, not just once a year. I kind of agree that all this hoopla is phony and we should get back to the real meaning if we are going to celebrate anything at all. I have told my mother I don't want anything and I am going to do home baked things for the people on my list, and I haven't decided if I am even going to be with my family this year for the big dinner. We will see. I may just get drawn into the whole thing at the end but it's making my eye twitch just thinking about it.
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