The Thankful List

Since it is Thanksgiving in America (and I am American for all of those who have lost track of this fact) I think I should probably do the obligatory "List of Things I am Thankful For". We don't have the tradition of reciting what you are thankful for at Thanksgiving dinner at my house. I always think maybe I should instate it at my house, but I'm a bit lazy and people hate being put on the spot when it comes to these things, so I always let it slide. Anyway, here is my list.

1. I am thankful that I have a husband who despite my faults adores me.

2. I am thankful that I have two beautiful little girls who are smart, funny and challenge me daily...whether I am up for the challenge or not that day.

3. I am thankful for the amazing friends I have. I am thankful that our friendships are two way streets and not one sided. I am thankful that I can depend on them and that I know they will always be my family away from family.

4. I am thankful for my family back in the USA. I know that they are always behind me 100% even if they don't always agree with my decisions.

5. I am thankful for my mom, who is amazingly funny and has always been the first person to put herself in my corner.

6. I am thankful for my dad who has always encouraged me to challenge myself.

7. I am thankful for my granny. She and I can talk for hours about anything and even though we may not always agree, I know she won't judge me.

8. I am thankful for living abroad in England. This experience has challenged me and made me grow up and find myself.

9. I am thankful that life isn't always easy. As much as I would love to sail through life without a care or worry, I have come to realize that you don't know how good life is until you have adversity to deal with.

10. I am thankful for chocolate and wine. Do I really need to explain this?

Instead of asking my guests around the Thanksgiving table what they are thankful for, I'm gonna ask you, my readers, what are you thankful for?

The Holiday Rush

I have outdone myself this time. I am having roughly 19 people (a mix of Americans and Brits) at my house tomorrow for Thanksgiving (assuming everyone shows up) and have I got anything prepared. Nope. My house is a slight bomb site. I have the food, but none is prepped. Thankfully I am not doing the turkey or the ham (yes we are doing a ham too) so there is that small reprieve. So today is all about cleaning and prepping.

Ahhhh the holidays. This is my favorite time of the year but I have found that they aren't nearly as fun as when I was a kid. It seems like they just sneak up on me and the amount of stress they generate is astronomical. Not to mention that I am in the UK, which I love, but since Thanksgiving isn't a British holiday there are already Christmas ads on the TV. So, it is a weird mix of Thanksgiving and Christmas at the same time at my house. I already have pulled out some of my Christmas decorations but the weather and my calendar are shouting Thanksgiving. I should come up with a word for this time of the year.

Thanksmas?

Happy Thanksmas Everyone!!

Let it Be

This morning while I was getting KiKi dressed for school this is the conversation we had.

Me- Daddy is leaving again for a while. Don't worry he will be back before Christmas.
KiKi- Is he going to school?
Me- Yep. He'll be in Germany for school! (tries to sound excited)
KiKi- Will his friends be there?
Me- Yep. He will have some of his friends there.
KiKi- Alright.

Needless to say the four year old was a little more understanding when told that The Man will be leaving again for work purposes. I on the other hand threw a tantrum a two year old would have been proud to claim. Usually I am the picture of a stoic military wife, on Thursday when I found out we had four days to alter our plans for the holiday season (he won't be here for Thanksgiving) I lost the plot. Don't worry. It only took me 45 minutes to gather myself and put back on my stoic face. What else can I do? I love my husband.

A Year and Thanksgiving

I have lived in England a year now. I know, hard to believe. While I still feel like a fish out of water sometimes (ok..a lot of the time), I have gotten to the point where it is starting to feel a bit like home. I have a normal routine. I have priceless friends. I know the rules of the road. I have my bearings.

Then Thanksgiving rolls around. How do you describe a holiday that has no significance to friends who have no frame of reference? I mean really, it is a holiday that can sound quite silly to those who have not grown up with it.

"It is a celebration of...ummm...a bountiful harvest. The old wives tale is that the Pilgrims and Indians celebrated the first Thanksgiving together, but that is really silly because the Pilgrims and Indians pretty much hated each other. So...anyhoo, we get together as a family, cook a huge turkey, make green bean casserole, and other side dishes...eat until we are about to explode and then watch football...no not THAT football. Oh and pie, there is lots of pie."

This year I was dead set against cooking a Thanksgiving dinner. It is a lot of work and there are only four of us here to enjoy it. That, from my frame of reference, is no way to spend Thanksgiving. Really, the food is only a small portion of the Thanksgiving equation. Thanksgiving is really about being with family and friends. Spending time with people you love (even the ones who annoy you to no end) and reconnecting is then main reason for Thanksgiving. Then I had a change of heart. I am not doing Thanksgiving for me. I am doing it for my kids, so they have a frame of reference. It is part of our culture. They need to build Thanksgiving memories just as I did. Sure, their Thanksgiving might be a little smaller on the years that we can't visit the rest of our family, but it is still a time for us to reconnect with each other, invite over friends (even those who don't understand it), and have a day where we can say "Thanks. Thanks for giving us each other."

Thanksgiving in England

I had a fabulous time celebrating Thanksgiving. The only thing that could have made it any better would have been if I was back home in Charleston, SC with the rest of my family or in Chattanooga with my Dad's side of the family. My friend D, prepared a feast. She had turkey, ham, green bean casserole, potato casserole, mashed potatoes, 2 types of stuffing (one English version with sausage and the other with oysters for her husband), candied yams, and of course I brought the pies (which nobody ate cause we were all too full of food).

There were 15 people in attendance. D and her husband M, their 2 kids, Alistair and his wife Melanie*, their 2 kids, N and L who work with D at the barbershop, The Man and I, KiKi and LaLa, and T (who's husband is in Texas right now for some Air Force school). Alistair, Melanie, N, and L are all English and this was their first Thanksgiving celebration.

Dinner started around 6pm in order for our English friends to get off of work in order to come over for dinner. Since this is an American holiday, of course they don't have the day off from work like all the Americans around here. There was a lot of good conversation, a few pints had by all (or wine), and of course the oohing and ahhing over the shere amount of food that was available. The kids had a great time playing together and when D broke out the ginormous bag of leftover Halloween sweets I thought all hell was going to break loose. Alistairs youngest girl is almost as hyperactive as LaLa and doesn't have an off switch. We added candy into this mix. Then we warned Alistair. His response was classic "Thanks for that" as he lifted his pint.

The celebration broke up around 9:30 and we caught a cab back to the hotel around 10:00pm. Thankfully the cabbie seemed very knowledgable of the base and took us directly to the hotel. We lugged all of our car seats, bags and children back to the room and then watched some American football on the Armed Forces Network. My husband and I caught most of the Dallas game and then a little bit of the Phillidelphia game. We ended up finally passing out around 2am.

I think this Thanksgiving proves one thing. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, as long as you have good food, good friends, and good conversation you can have a fabulous time. Also if you add a pint or two into the mix, it is always a good idea to catch a cab, no matter what country you are in. Happy Post Thanksgiving to Everyone! I hope you are all as blessed this holiday season as I have been. Cheers.

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent, or not so innocent depending on who you speak to.