We celebrated a little differently this year. Instead of a big Thanksgiving dinner with all our extended family, the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, fixings, pies, etc. - Aaron and I took our three boys out to eat at a restaurant. It was his idea. I supported him but was disappointed to be missing the big family dinner. Then I realized what a brilliant plan it was! No chance of us hosting, so no frantic scrubbing, scouring, dusting, and cleaning. No rolls or pies to make. No schedule to follow. We just get to enjoy the day with our own little family. This works for us because we are only skipping the family event with the people we see every week, all year round.
So we spent Thanksgiving day watching the Macy's parade and lots of football. Later, after naps, we took our boys to Cracker Barrel. Laugh if you must, but it's the perfect place for kids, and it's home-style cooking. We waited longer than we had planned before we were seated. Good thing there's the great porch with rocking chairs and some old-fashioned game entertainment, not to mention the country shop for mom to browse through. We had a sympathetic server who brought me as many biscuits as I wanted and didn't mention the smashed carrots and other detritus under our table. We tipped well and came home to a peaceful & un-trashed house. (Thanks to Aaron for sweeping our daily under-table detritus.)
We had such a great day we are planning to make this a new tradition. We alternate years of celebration with the Blasneks and the Carpenters - and now, every three years we will skip all the hub-bub and spend our Thanksgiving day with our own little family, and leave the cooking to someone else. As the boys get older, we can try out much nicer places. And I can bake pies or rolls anytime I want. Maybe next year.
This year I am thankful for:
my husband and our eternal marriage
our sons
the time the five of us spend together (especially this week)
our health
our beautiful home
plenty of material blessings
our extended family
the word of the Lord through scriptures and prophets
the atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ
2 comments:
Lots to be thankful for! Love the pic of Ro-Ro, he looks like a little man!
So I recognized that checkerboard from Cracker Barrel when we went there in Florida. It seems like alden was very taken by it even then. I think eating out sounds like a great idea!
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