...are you ready for some gravy?

Maybe it’s a morning game of touch football with family and friends, half-watching a festive Manhattan parade, the aroma of a roasting turkey or the prospect of watching America’s most evil team get annihilated in hell (Texas) while a national audience rejoices,  but there’s just something about Thanksgiving that most Americans seem to genuinely enjoy. People seem to like the simplicity of it. You don’t have to mess with any presents, decorations are usually pretty limited, and for the most part if you don’t have to cook and clean, all you really need to do is show up, eat, drink, eat some more, and then recline on the sofa in digestive agony while you watch some football and doze a bit.

There’s just kind of a basicness to it as well. It’s just turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, yams, gravy cranberries, gravy and pumpkin pie. You can add a whole bunch of other crap too, but most people are really going all in on the staples. As a matter-of-fact, if nobody was looking I could gladly get by with just the turkey, the stuffing, the gravy, the mashed potatoes, the gravy and the pie…and the gravy. Throw in a couple of bottles of red wine (or more if it’s more than just you) and some friends and family and you have a pretty good holiday.

Attempts to overcomplicate Thanksgiving don’t work either. I remember sitting around a conference table in the nation’s capital the Monday after Thanksgiving a couple of years ago where we began the meeting by going around the table of about a dozen folks with each participant offering their best holiday recipe. Most of the best ones sounded pretty good to me…but I distinctly remember somebody proudly offering a high-browed “bourbon infused stuffing.” Listen, there’s plenty of people in the red states infusing their livers with whiskey, but you don’t need to put it in your stuffing. All you really need is some Mrs. Cubbinson’s dressing, the recipe on the back of the box, and double the amount of real butter that they recommend. If you make a broth by boiling the neck (of the turkey…not your mother-in-law) and such and mix it into the stuffing it’s even better…but if you find yourself chopping too much celery or fussing with pine nuts…you’re going overboard. Maybe one of the other fun things about Thanksgiving is arguing about recipes too.

The cool thing is that it’s all just kind of straight-forward. Friends, family, food and a time to be thankful before the insanity and hustle and bustle of the rest of the holiday season blaze by at an unforgiving pace. You eat some turkey, blink, and the next thing you know you’re de-decking the halls and getting ready to freeze your butt of for a few months as you look forward to Memorial Day. If you don't think so...think about how many days have passed since Halloween.

So…take some time this weekend and in the days that follow to really enjoy the shortened work week. If you can, try to take a minute or two to think about the things that matter most…and the things you’re most thankful for too. If you’re struggling to find things to be thankful about and you’re sleeping indoors on anything other than a cardboard box…start there. Then on Thursday, huddle with some friends, or family or even just your dog and then kick back in the Lazy Boy and set up two IVs. Fill one bag with Pinot Noir, and the other with gravy. The Cowboys game starts at 4:30pm EST.

Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Not cease from distressing...