thanksgiving

one of the blogs i follow wanted to know what favorite traditions readers had.  this got me to reflect that, while thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, i don't have a lot of must-have traditions associated with the day.  i have a very small family (one daughter, soninlaw, 3 grandchildren), i don't have the wherewithal (or motivation) to travel distances to visit family (parents, 2 sisters, niece, her 4 children), no necessary food dishes, no urge to watch sports or parades....

i enjoy turkey & the trimmings, enjoy baking, but feel no sadness if i don't fix a huge dinner.  my daughter went to her mother-in-laws (no room in the car for me) while i stayed home, relaxed, putzed around.  she brought me home a plate of goodies & that was all i needed.  as it turns out, while i love the idea of a holiday based on giving thanks, serving an overabundance of food seems like such a waste!  i do *not* like the scene where people are flopped around, semi-comatose from over-eating, while a table still groans with food.  if a person has that much money they can spend a months' worth of grocery money on one meal, maybe they should consider donating a healthy half of the amount to the local soup kitchen, where people will really appreciate the bounty!  the scene where people sit around a t.v. set cheering on a football game is beyond me. if you have family & friends around to enjoy the day with, shouldn't you spend the day with them---*not* the t.v.?

rapidly becoming part of an american thanksgiving tradition is 'black friday'.  yes, i participated. i went to one store (jo-ann fabric & crafts). i did not fuss or fight.  i compared prices in the flyers with my daughter, confirmed that most aren't that big of a savings, & decided that only one store merited a visit.  i bought things to complete projects with, & a table-top ott-lamp.  for gift-giving, i bought nary a thing.  that's already been taken care of.