Monday, November 24, 2008

Thanksgiving Thoughts

I announced last week that the kitchen was closed and we were going to have Thanksgiving at the Eden Resort Inn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. My youngest son, Jon, who is a senior at Grove City College said, "Great! Lookin' forward to it." My oldest son said, "No way, I'll cook. You can't do that."

"Oh, yes I can...I'm the Mom!" I explained.

I'm writing the chapter on "Simplicity" for my next book and thought, "How can I make Thanksgiving more simple?"

That was easy..don't cook!

Last year we spent $150 on groceries. I cooked and cleaned all day (and the day before), used every pan, platter, and placemat in the house, cleaned all night, and fell into bed with an empty stomach (I forgot to eat!). There was 10 minutes of conversation at the table, and then they all drifted into the living room to watch the football game. I was left with the dishes (only female in the family), and said to myself, "Next year will be different."

Guess what?

It is different. I don't even have pangs of guilt, but rather a sense of gratitude in my heart and thankfulness in my soul.

Now back to writing on "simplicity," after I do my "Black Friday" shopping today (Monday). That's my other way to make it simple: shop off hours when everyone else is at work!

Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving. The kitchen will re-open next Monday (maybe!).




Photo courtesy of: www.freedigitalphotos.net

4 comments:

Susan Skitt said...

I suppose there are different ways to do things at different times in our lives, right?

As for me, I'm a homebody for Thanksgiving, I like that homemade meal from Mom and just relaxing together at home (we - the grown kids bring side dishes). Even the clean-up isn't too bad when everyone pitches in. Of course I have two sisters - LOL!

Anyhow, my blog is in transition with a new domain name and should be up and running in a few days at www.susanskitt.com

AND my new email is susanskitt@verizon.net (just to make things more complicated - smile - actually it will save us money - so that is a way to help simplify things for our bank account!)

Talk with you soon :)

Connie Pombo said...

Oh-la-la...www.susanskitt.com!

I like, I like...can't wait. My other obstacle for the new year is to simplify "me." That's another blog post, so I'll just leave it at that!

Happy Thanksgiving, Sister!

Tracy Ruckman said...

Good for you, Connie! What fun!

We like the leftovers, and we all like to cook, so going out is usually not in the equation for us. But at least we all take turns cooking - or like this - each one of us cooks different things.

My older son is doing the main stuff - turkey, ham, veggies. I made the pies (2 pecan and 2 pumpkin), yeast rolls, and cornbread for the dressing. All of that is already cooked and in the freezer, so the work is done. Younger son is cooking too - we just don't know what yet! And I think he's cooking a meal for us Wednesday or Friday night.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, my friend. You've been such a blessing and encouragement to me this year - I'm so thankful God allowed our paths to cross.

Connie Pombo said...

Oh, it was so much better than I thought it would be...Thanksgiving dinner out (no cooking, no cleaning, and no fuss). It was just perfect: we talked, we laughed, we listened, and we ate (but not as much as I thought we would!). Amazing!

I think we'll eat out for Christmas too; I could get used to this!

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends!

HUGS!