Home > Relish Austin > Archives > 2009 > December > 03 > Entry
Kitchen Confession: Opting out of Thanksgiving traditions
I skipped the big Thanksgiving this year.
Last week, I wrote a little bit about taking a break from traditional Thanksgiving dishes, but our break from tradition wasn’t just about not serving turkey.
Every year since I moved to Austin, I’ve done the holiday dance, driving 11 hours to Missouri to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas with my family there. It’s always a lovely time together, and I really do cherish the whole idea of packing as many relatives into one house as possible for the holidays.
But sometimes you need a break.
I’m lucky to get to see my and my husband’s family several times a year, so this year, I knew our own little family needed a different approach to the holidays.
I could blame it on the fact that we have a 3-year-old who hates spending an entire day in the car as much as we do. I could blame it on the fact that all I think and breathe for the entire months of November and December is holiday food. I could blame my little hail-dented Corolla that needs a visit to a mechanic before another massive road trip.
The truth is, we wanted to do things our way this Thanksgiving.
When I first told my family that we weren’t going to anyone’s Thanksgiving dinner but our own, I don’t think they believed me. But as the end of November got closer and even my San Diego-based uncle, the prodigal son who never came home, said he was flying back for Thanksgiving, the pressure was on for us to change our plans.
But we didn’t. Feelings were hurt, I’m sure, but everyone, even you, dear reader of this blog, shouldn’t have to beg for a get-out-of-jail-free card if you want to opt out of a big family gathering.
The result? The most relaxing, drama-free, expectation-free Thanksgiving vacation I’ve ever had.
I missed being around my extended family, but most of them will be in Austin for Christmas.
I know I’ll be back on the gravy train next year, but stealing last week with Ian and Julian was one of the best decisions we’ve made all year.
Kitchen Confession is a series of blog posts highlighting the bad habits we refuse to break in the kitchen.
What’s your dirty kitchen habit? E-mail me at abroyles@statesman.com. Photos are optional, but encouraged.
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By kunde
May 9, 2011 11:03 AM | Link to this
Lots of good reading here, thanks! I was researching on yahoo when I observed your post, I’m going to add your feed to Google Reader, I look forward to far more from you.