Why all the negativity? Some of us actually enjoy Thanksgiving and our families. Ditto for all the holidays. It's fashionable to groan and moan over the relatives, but for some of us, they are life's valuable convoy. And please, have the smarts and self control to shut up about politics for at least one day. We have relatives who vote on the other side, but we just shut up, love them, enjoy all else about them and they do the same for us.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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@M. Walsh Then the older generation dies off, no one gets together anymore, and single relatives like me get left on our own. Count your blessings while you've got them!
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@M. Walsh "...they are life's valuable convoy." Wonderfully said.
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Well. Suddenly, I feel better...While being both horrified and amused, I now have no need to buy these books. After reading "Educated," I have no further need for books that let me know how truly challenging life can be for some people. (And that's a non-fiction text. No need to make this stuff up). I suppose I'm lucky. I've never been truly alone on The Day, itself. And I have had better company, and judgement, than the people depicted in these selections. If being around your family is that bad, either don't go or grow up and let them be who they are. No amount of whinging or moaning is going to help. It's your day and your job to find the joy in it. May the farce be with you.
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Sad to see no one ever has a HAPPY Thanksgiving -- or so your choice of reading material implies; perhaps truth is stranger than fiction.
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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
But this year is hard - my mother died in August and due to my sister's actions during this time, she is now banished from my table.
So while I still expect an excellent holiday, I will arm myself with some good books because good books make everything, even a favorite holiday, better.
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@democritic
I am sorry for your loss.
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@democritic That's so tough the first year, I'm sorry. I hope things improve for you and your sister.
For anyone who gets a bit down around Thanksgiving and you need to laugh, I love the movie "Home for the Holidays" with Ann Bancroft, Robert Downey, Jr. and Holly Hunter. Holly Hunter goes home for Thanksgiving and her whole family is there, in various states of dysfunction. The cast also has David Strathairn, Claire Danes, Charles Durning , Steve Guttenberg and Dylan McDermott . They are all great in it.
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@democritic My sincere condolences for the loss of your mother. I lost two brothers this year: one to cancer and one to heart failure. This Thanksgiving it's just my cat and I because I'm snowed in so can't go to my daughter's 60 miles away for dinner. I have to admit that reading about others who don't necessarily have a "Happy Thanksgiving" helps me feel better.
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Every year I love reading Thanksgiving stories.
They make me glad and sad at the same time.
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I needed this.
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Clearly, Ms. Egan and Ms. Jordan have witnessed one of the Thanksgiving dinners in my past because they were spot on about these two observations: "guests who don’t help with the dishes" and "know-it-all siblings second-guessing" everything I prepared for the grand dinner.
They are also spot on about nothing being "more soothing than a good book" to get through rough and stressful holiday celebrations.
I highly recommend "Good in Bed". It is an exceptional and enjoyable read.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
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Reading through the angst surrounding Thanksgiving and having to sit down to a meal together with family, I’m happy to be in France where meals around a table are a regular part of sharing time with friends and family, not something to be dreaded.
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So there are no dysfunctional families in France? Come now,surely that’s not true!
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Thanks for this - brought many smiles to my face and made every Thanksgiving I've ever attended seem perfect!
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@NK Good comment. At 83, my memories of bad Thanksgivings are like yours: I remember none as being bad.
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Nothing beats a good read in one hand, and a cup of hot coffee, laced with cognac in the other hand, especially during a stressful time like the holidays.
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The going did indeed get rough for me. It was Thanksgiving and it was one year since my wife died. My sister-in-law had stopped making her traditional Thanksgiving dinners, and my daughter was in grad school, out of town.
I mentioned to one of my colleagues at the hospital (I am a male; I was a physician) that I was doing nothing for Thanksgiving, She promptly invited me to Thanksgiving dinner at her place, with her and her partner. So, I thought, OK, two women I like, I'm grateful, it'll be a good Thanksgiving.
I arrived with a bottle of wine. the place was full of women--maybe 12. No alcohol in sight. I opened the bottle of wine but no one was interested. I asked my hosts if someone was in recovery.
"We all are," they said. I put the wine under the table (although it was surely not necessary). I had been invited to a dinner with an AA lesbian chapter. The dinner was good, the conversations lively and interesting, and it was, as expected, a good thanksgiving.
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@Howard Fischer
You were not offered a straw?
Twelve women, 12 steps.
Wonderful tale, Dr. Fischer.
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@Howard Fischer
I absolutely loved your comment because one of your colleagues invited you to her home, on Thanksgiving. You were included in her generous and gracious gesture and no doubt, were made welcomed by her 12 other guests, regardless of their pedigree and varied interests.
Sometimes merely be remembered, asked, and included, especially when hurting emotionally, is the kindest gift a person can offer another human being.
Sincere condolences on the passing of your wife.
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@Howard Fischer
A lovely story.
I imagine that many a holiday get-together has been ruined by excessive alcohol consumption ! It has a Jekyll and Hyde effect on some people....
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A vase!
I'll remember that.
Bring me no flowers, please.
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