We continue our weekly Thursday posts from Boyfriend.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Not for all the once a year “I'm so thankful” stuff, but because it has always been the most fun out of all the holidays.
When I was but a young little Boyfriend I loved Thanksgiving because we got to eat all kinds of food that was out of bounds the rest of the year. You see my mom was a vegetarian and a bit of a hippie when it came to food, as were my Grandparents who lived next door. Going to visit my Dad’s side of the family presented me with the opportunity to eat turkey and all the fixings.
Since my mother is a very sane and reasonable person she did not impose her vegetarianism on me. She just cooked late 70’s early 80’s type vegetarian food. This was not really the most exciting menu to chose from. Turkey and mashed potatoes, however, were, and still are, absolutely delicious. Most of the year we ate bland (sorry Mom) lentil soup and the like.
When Thanksgiving rolled around I always enjoyed the exotic delights of middle American classics plus two days of school off. Who wouldn’t be thankful for that?
As I got older Thanksgiving turned into a much more debaucherous holiday. In my early 20s I was most definitely still obligated to go home and visit the family on the fourth Thursday of November. As a rebellious young man, sitting around the fireplace with the family was the last thing I wanted to do, especially when there was a little thing know as the Forest Club beckoning.
I grew up in a pretty small town in Northern California. Not a one stoplight kind of town but certainly a one bar that everyone of a certain age from the one high school in town for the holidays goes to kind of town. Enter the Forest Club. This is a typical small town dive bar that, on a usual Thursday night, might have 6 people sitting at the bar. On Thanksgiving night it becomes a warped high school reunion. It is as if the lunch room in high school suddenly served $3 beers. For a good couple of years I looked forward to Thanksgiving at the Forest with a sense of expectation and dread. Would I be able to impress the popular girl now that I was “cool” or would I still feel awkward and uncomfortable around the popular “kids”? It was a mixed bag over the years. Some people were exactly the same, others were totally different. Some girls who wouldn’t give me the time in high school were very friendly, some were just the same. I have heard and seen this scenario in other towns. There were some very long and interesting Thanksgiving nights at the Forest and there were some quick visits. I haven’t been there over the holidays in years, but I’m sure it is just the same.
The way I love to spend Thanksgiving now, as a grown up adult, is with friends. Honestly this is my favorite way. I reserve Christmas for the family time.
What makes Thanksgiving so great to me now is spending time with friends and just being able to be yourself, relax, enjoy food and drink. Take a day off from the world. I love not going to any stores and making as few people as I can work. Just to enjoy good food and company.
That is what I am really thankful for.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Not for all the once a year “I'm so thankful” stuff, but because it has always been the most fun out of all the holidays.
When I was but a young little Boyfriend I loved Thanksgiving because we got to eat all kinds of food that was out of bounds the rest of the year. You see my mom was a vegetarian and a bit of a hippie when it came to food, as were my Grandparents who lived next door. Going to visit my Dad’s side of the family presented me with the opportunity to eat turkey and all the fixings.
Since my mother is a very sane and reasonable person she did not impose her vegetarianism on me. She just cooked late 70’s early 80’s type vegetarian food. This was not really the most exciting menu to chose from. Turkey and mashed potatoes, however, were, and still are, absolutely delicious. Most of the year we ate bland (sorry Mom) lentil soup and the like.
When Thanksgiving rolled around I always enjoyed the exotic delights of middle American classics plus two days of school off. Who wouldn’t be thankful for that?
As I got older Thanksgiving turned into a much more debaucherous holiday. In my early 20s I was most definitely still obligated to go home and visit the family on the fourth Thursday of November. As a rebellious young man, sitting around the fireplace with the family was the last thing I wanted to do, especially when there was a little thing know as the Forest Club beckoning.
I grew up in a pretty small town in Northern California. Not a one stoplight kind of town but certainly a one bar that everyone of a certain age from the one high school in town for the holidays goes to kind of town. Enter the Forest Club. This is a typical small town dive bar that, on a usual Thursday night, might have 6 people sitting at the bar. On Thanksgiving night it becomes a warped high school reunion. It is as if the lunch room in high school suddenly served $3 beers. For a good couple of years I looked forward to Thanksgiving at the Forest with a sense of expectation and dread. Would I be able to impress the popular girl now that I was “cool” or would I still feel awkward and uncomfortable around the popular “kids”? It was a mixed bag over the years. Some people were exactly the same, others were totally different. Some girls who wouldn’t give me the time in high school were very friendly, some were just the same. I have heard and seen this scenario in other towns. There were some very long and interesting Thanksgiving nights at the Forest and there were some quick visits. I haven’t been there over the holidays in years, but I’m sure it is just the same.
The way I love to spend Thanksgiving now, as a grown up adult, is with friends. Honestly this is my favorite way. I reserve Christmas for the family time.
What makes Thanksgiving so great to me now is spending time with friends and just being able to be yourself, relax, enjoy food and drink. Take a day off from the world. I love not going to any stores and making as few people as I can work. Just to enjoy good food and company.
That is what I am really thankful for.
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