Four Thanksgivings
You know that Vince Vaughn/Reece Witherspoon movie Four Christmas, in which they try to spend the holiday with each of their divorced families? Well, my Thanksgiving is kind of like that. Except, I'm not married, or visiting families split by a divorce, and it's not Christmas. Basically the only similarity is that this year I celebrated Four Thanksgivings. And none of them were with my actual family! Let me explain...
Thanksgiving #1--Technically dubbed "Friendsgiving," my roommates and their gang celebrate a pre-Thanksgiving every year at someone's apartment with a family sized make-shift table, a professional camera and tripod, and a theme. This year, my roommates and I housed the denim-themed soiree. I played the background music, the L sisters provided table clothes and fresh flowers, and guests brought a dish to share, and wine, so much wine. Before eating, as per tradition, we went around the table and said what we were each thankful for. Then we cleared the table, set up the camera, and got our "blue jean" on. Literally, we put on denim jackets, vests, and the best denim dress I have ever seen. We took a bunch of photos with CS behind the camera and LC as the creative director. We constructed fictional story lines regarding our camera-ready relationships (pervy uncle, delinquent niece, etc.) and the rest was camera magic. Then there was charades, which is always a hoot, and dishes, so many dishes. I went to bed with wine stained lips and woke up with them too, which, in my opinion, means the night was a success.
Thanksgiving #2--Also called "Friendsgiving," I attended a larger food and friend fest at my gal pal CH's apartment on Sunday night. I brought roasted veggies (it's kind of my thang), and I took a cab because it was 20 degrees out, and walking was out of the question. Once I arrived, unthawed, and poured myself a drink, I nestled with DB on the couch and then the rest of the crew once they arrived. The party consisted of 75% of CH's roommate's friends, and 25% of CH's friends (me), and though it was uncharacteristic of my friend group, we were very anti-social. At one point, we were sitting on the couch with a neglected football game playing on the TV, and I said: "This really is just like Thanksgiving" and WA added, "yeah, with weird cousins we don't know." We laughed and laughed and ate so much and laughed some more. There was also a Thanksgiving themed photo booth set up, with Pilgrim hats and turkey headbands, so we definitely hit that up before leaving for the night. BD, SS, WA, and I walked out of the apartment into the harsh winter cold, linked arms, and sang the most incoherent rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" that the world has ever had to hear. We weren't even drunk. We split a cab ride home, and I was very thankful for both cab rides, and everything that happened in between.
Thanksgiving #3--The Office "Thanksgiving Brunch." The greatest irony of this particular Thanksgiving celebration is that the department that I work in is "Gastroenterology and Nutrition" yet all of our office celebrations involve the kind of food that CAUSES gastroenterological issues. Heartburn, indigestion, constipation, etc. etc...the whole thing. Yet, we still bring in cheese cakes and pasta salads and cheeses and soda. I made pumpkin cookies-ish (they really resist definition) and even though only half the party was in scrubs, by the end of the severely filling meal, we wished we all were. Elastic is key. [Note: no Gastro issues were reported]
Thanksgiving #4--On the actual morning of Thanksgiving, I woke up on a half-depleted air mattress in my boss' living room. That's a very odd sentence, I know. First let me explain that I'm an assistant to a doctor who is the COOLEST and also more characteristically my friend than my boss. We get drinks after work, I babysit her kids, and for Thanksgiving, she invited to me to her parent's house in Long Island to a real family feast. Her parents literally welcomed me with open arms, and I talked books with her English professor father and talked Midwest with her mother, a native of Indiana. All afternoon, I peeled potatoes and helped make paper turkey place cards with the kids and their dad, and laughed and drank wine. After the feast and dessert, EL (my boss/friend) and I laid on her bed and researched "the Beyonce cleanse" in her ipad. Then we went back into the dining room to ceremoniously light the Menurkey (menorah + turkey); I watched the lights twinkle and listened carefully to a beautiful Hebrew song swirl around me. I took a Tupperware container of leftovers to the train station with me, and I held the wishbone as I looked out the train window on my way back into the city, wondering what else I could possibly wish for.
Four celebrations, and I can't even begin to catalog my gratitude. Also, I'm too full to think.
Thanksgiving #1--Technically dubbed "Friendsgiving," my roommates and their gang celebrate a pre-Thanksgiving every year at someone's apartment with a family sized make-shift table, a professional camera and tripod, and a theme. This year, my roommates and I housed the denim-themed soiree. I played the background music, the L sisters provided table clothes and fresh flowers, and guests brought a dish to share, and wine, so much wine. Before eating, as per tradition, we went around the table and said what we were each thankful for. Then we cleared the table, set up the camera, and got our "blue jean" on. Literally, we put on denim jackets, vests, and the best denim dress I have ever seen. We took a bunch of photos with CS behind the camera and LC as the creative director. We constructed fictional story lines regarding our camera-ready relationships (pervy uncle, delinquent niece, etc.) and the rest was camera magic. Then there was charades, which is always a hoot, and dishes, so many dishes. I went to bed with wine stained lips and woke up with them too, which, in my opinion, means the night was a success.
Thanksgiving #2--Also called "Friendsgiving," I attended a larger food and friend fest at my gal pal CH's apartment on Sunday night. I brought roasted veggies (it's kind of my thang), and I took a cab because it was 20 degrees out, and walking was out of the question. Once I arrived, unthawed, and poured myself a drink, I nestled with DB on the couch and then the rest of the crew once they arrived. The party consisted of 75% of CH's roommate's friends, and 25% of CH's friends (me), and though it was uncharacteristic of my friend group, we were very anti-social. At one point, we were sitting on the couch with a neglected football game playing on the TV, and I said: "This really is just like Thanksgiving" and WA added, "yeah, with weird cousins we don't know." We laughed and laughed and ate so much and laughed some more. There was also a Thanksgiving themed photo booth set up, with Pilgrim hats and turkey headbands, so we definitely hit that up before leaving for the night. BD, SS, WA, and I walked out of the apartment into the harsh winter cold, linked arms, and sang the most incoherent rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" that the world has ever had to hear. We weren't even drunk. We split a cab ride home, and I was very thankful for both cab rides, and everything that happened in between.
Thanksgiving #3--The Office "Thanksgiving Brunch." The greatest irony of this particular Thanksgiving celebration is that the department that I work in is "Gastroenterology and Nutrition" yet all of our office celebrations involve the kind of food that CAUSES gastroenterological issues. Heartburn, indigestion, constipation, etc. etc...the whole thing. Yet, we still bring in cheese cakes and pasta salads and cheeses and soda. I made pumpkin cookies-ish (they really resist definition) and even though only half the party was in scrubs, by the end of the severely filling meal, we wished we all were. Elastic is key. [Note: no Gastro issues were reported]
Thanksgiving #4--On the actual morning of Thanksgiving, I woke up on a half-depleted air mattress in my boss' living room. That's a very odd sentence, I know. First let me explain that I'm an assistant to a doctor who is the COOLEST and also more characteristically my friend than my boss. We get drinks after work, I babysit her kids, and for Thanksgiving, she invited to me to her parent's house in Long Island to a real family feast. Her parents literally welcomed me with open arms, and I talked books with her English professor father and talked Midwest with her mother, a native of Indiana. All afternoon, I peeled potatoes and helped make paper turkey place cards with the kids and their dad, and laughed and drank wine. After the feast and dessert, EL (my boss/friend) and I laid on her bed and researched "the Beyonce cleanse" in her ipad. Then we went back into the dining room to ceremoniously light the Menurkey (menorah + turkey); I watched the lights twinkle and listened carefully to a beautiful Hebrew song swirl around me. I took a Tupperware container of leftovers to the train station with me, and I held the wishbone as I looked out the train window on my way back into the city, wondering what else I could possibly wish for.
Four celebrations, and I can't even begin to catalog my gratitude. Also, I'm too full to think.
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