It is the day before Thanksgiving and my girls aren’t feeling well. I decide to take them to the doctor to make sure they are not sick before we mix with my husband’s ginormous family the next day.
Swab them for the flu.
Positive.
Each year, my husband looks forward to waking up SUPER early and helping his mom prepare Thanksgiving lunch when he is home. He is finally able to make Thanksgiving and he gets the news. I can’t blame him for being upset.
I wasn’t excited about this myself.
We decided that we would just stay at home. The five of us would spend our day together, feasting on a much smaller scale than we are accustomed to on Thanksgiving. My husband grabbed a turkey roll, I ran to the grocery store that night, the day before Thanksgiving. (10/10 wouldn’t recommend)
I gathered bread, frozen mac and cheese, and other last-minute things to put our quick thanksgiving together. We woke up and prepared our mini feast: Stuffed Turkey Roll, Green Bean Casserole, Cornbread, Bread Rolls, Mac and Cheese, and homemade chocolate pie.
This was my chance to SLOW DOWN.
Staying home this year made me realize that we always have so many expectations placed on holidays. Sometimes God has a way of humbling us. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season have arrived. The next month will be absolute insanity! Preparing for Christmas, work commitments, after work commitments, dancing, school, the endless parties and last minutes gifts that need to be bought.
We stayed in our PJs. ALL DAY. We probably didn’t even brush our hair. We are sad that we had to miss out on this day with our family, but we were able to spend this holiday at home, full of rest. It was better than I can have imagined. Although I’m so sad I had to miss out on my mother in law’s cornbread dressing, we had a good day.
My middle daughter suggested that we sit down at the table before we ate and say what we are thankful for before we said grace. This is something I would have always loved to do, but when you attend Thanksgiving with close to 50 people, this just isn’t going to happen.
It was the sweetest thing ever, even though my 2 year old insisted that he was thankful for nuh-ting.
No talk of politics, no gossip, just the simple conversations that children have. It was refreshing, stress-free.
ZERO EXPECTATIONS.
I was in my pajamas and these kids didn’t blink an eye.
It was a Thanksgiving to remember for sure, although it wasn’t ideal, it is exactly what we needed.
