How’s Your Practice for Turkey Talk?

Tomorrow is your big day. I’m only hoping you’ve been practicing. I sure have! I used to avoid holidays because as much dysfunction as I’d been exposed to growing up, I didn’t need to see anyone else’s. And I sure did.

Every time I accepted an invitation to someone else’s holidays I bounced between my grief at the sadness I felt for myself and the angst of their family stuff.

I quit celebrating. I got all holy and spent Thanksgiving giving thanks for everything I could think of all day long. Discovered that the Publix pumpkin pie tasted just the way I wanted it to (mistake in terms of my weight, delight in terms of emotional eating). I still like doing that, and it’s become a different perspective that now includes giving thanks for more than I can imagine.

What are you going to do tomorrow? Spend your time in bitterness, nursing the emotional equivalent of a dill pickle, or spend your time giving thanks that you are where you are now?

I’ll tell you one thing: Both take practice, and both feel weird until you get used to them.