I know the stores have been displaying Christmas items for the last 2 months. However, for me the season is now officially begun. Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. It’s a holiday about gathering with friends and family. Sharing a good meal and enjoying the day. My family never was one for verbalizing thanks. Some years we did, some not. Some years we had more to be thankful for than others. Regardless, the day was one with few expectations, and therefore little chance of disappointment (yes, that does sound rather defeatist. However it is true).
As a couple of mixed religion, the holidays do tend to be less stressful for my husband and me than others. We have traditionally spent Thanksgiving with my parents, and Christmas with his. No stress, no guilt, no mess.
This year I got to spend the day before with my daughter. She didn’t have school, so I took the day off. In the past, I’ve always helped as much as possible with dinner the day of, but generally haven’t brought anything. This year E & I thought it would be fun to do some cooking the day before. She decided she wanted to make Thanksgiving cookies. Not your typical Thanksgiving treat, but for a kid who doesn’t like pie, perfectly logical. She wanted to make them herself, not with my help. That was probably the hardest part for me. So, while she made cookies, I made the butternut squash soup that Shepherd Susie recommended a few months ago. I made it last month, minus the coriander, and I loved it. So I figured I’d make it for dinner. So I worked on that while E made the cookies. She helped peel the apples, and I managed to peel the butternut squash without cutting myself.
The cookies came out great.
We had fun picking out colors, and she did a great job decorating:
They are all packed up and ready to go:
I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
I’m thankful I have a great kid who loves to do things by herself, but will ask for help when she needs it. I’m thankful that I have a job that challenges me, and keeps me busy, and offers me the opportunity to take the day off to spend with my daughter. Finally, I’m thankful that we’ll begin tomorrow at the local Turkey trot, which has an entry fee of $1.00 per person, and a donation to the local food bank.
I hope those who celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow have a wonderful time, and those that don’t have a good day too!
I knit alone 
My husband hates Thanksgiving. He usually fasts that day. I try to look at it as a kickoff to a season that we’ll be insular, as a reminder that we still have each other when we’re getting cabin fever.
Those cookies look delicious! My daughter loves to bake. Maybe I’ll let her make cookies for her friends this year; that might be a great gift.