How Was Your Thanksgiving?

It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving, and we are back to our regular grind whatever that might be.  Chances are you were greeted by the obligatory, “How was your Thanksgiving?”  I was giving my answer some serious thought when I arrived at my perfect response, “Predictable.”

Not to be ungrateful, but isn’t this the case year after year?  The same food is served each year, the same relatives show up, the same conversations are had, and on it goes.  Part of the tradition of Thanksgiving and other holidays is the familiarity of the unchanged. 

Perhaps you like the comfort of the same.  The same people that were late last year, were late this year.  If you didn’t like the cranberry salad that your mother-in-law made last year, odds are fairly high that you didn’t like it this year.  Kids may have grown little taller, parents and grandparents have shown their age a bit more, and the most dysfunctional habits of relatives may have reached a new high or low.  But wait, aren’t we comforted by knowing what to expect each year?

How would it work if your sister who operates on her own time showed up early? Or, what would occur if your not so favorite uncle talked about what is right with the world and not start discussing politics the moment he walked in the door?  I am not sure that we would be able to handle these changes.  

So I guess we can take solace in the holidays, whether you enjoy them, or cannot wait for them to be over, at least we can agree that they are indeed predictable.