Thanksgiving Stress, I Have Some

Can we talk about the cornucopia of stress in the room right now? Well, maybe you’re not feeling the stress, but I sure am. Before I whine about that I have a question for you. Do you travel for Thanksgiving, do you stay home for Thanksgiving, or do you host people at your house for Thanksgiving? We’ve traveled most years and stayed home for a few. Those few we stayed home were the best ones because there was no driving involved and no schedule to worry about, but the best part was that I prepared the exact meal I wanted and we all enjoyed every last bite. Of course it can’t compare to spending Thanksgiving at Walt Disney World and eating a traditional feast at the Tusker House Restaurant in the Animal Kingdom with nothing to worry about after eating other than which attraction to visit first. Yeah, I wish I could spend every Thanksgiving there now that I think about it. If only money, lots of money, didn’t get in the way.

So back to my whining. I mean, I don’t really want to complain because we’ve decided to stay home this year, but we’ve also decided to invite a few guests to join us. It’s not that I don’t like the people we’ve invited, but it’s more work for me and, oh yeah, Thanksgiving Day is also my birthday this year so I really don’t want to do any of the work. The problem, though, is that I’m really picky about Thanksgiving dinner because it’s literally my favorite meal of the entire year and since I only get to eat it that one day of the year I want it to be as close to perfect as possible. So I’m stressed. I’m stressed about the food, especially that frozen turkey that will hopefully, fingers crossed, be thawed by the exact moment it needs to be so I can put it in the oven on time. I’m stressed because we have a table that seats six, but there will be seven of us here. I’m stressed because it’s also Cody’s birthday and I want it to be a great day for him. I know as long as he gets the gift he’s hoping for and a cake with his name it he’ll be satisfied, but it’s just one more thing I’ve added to my list of worries.

Personally, I’d be happy to go to a nice restaurant where someone else cooks all my Thanksgiving favorites, serves it to me with a smile, and then does all the clean up afterward. Okay, I’ll be honest. The biggest thing I’m probably stressed about is the clean up after the feast. I hate that part. I mean, I hate cleaning up after a regular family meal, let alone after a big Thanksgiving feast for seven. I’m hoping that Paul and Nick will take on that task this one day of the year, so I can just guzzle sip my wine and relax. It’s the least they can do, right? OR I could just buy paper plates and plastic utensils to make all our lives a whole lot simpler on November 23. What? They make special Thanksgiving paper plates because I’ve totally seen that at the store, so you stop judging me right this very minute.