Thanksgiving

When I was growing up, I remember getting up "early" on Thanksgiving (which is relative when you have a father that rises at 6:00 am regardless of day of the week), and smelling toast. It was Dad's beginning of homemade stuffing, and it was my favorite thing to help with when I was younger.

Today is my first Thanksgiving alone, and although it's kind of sad in some ways, it's also my first chance to cook a Thanksgiving meal by myself, too, which is kind of exciting. I'm not going all out -- I bought Turkey fillets instead of a bird or breast, and, frankly, my mashed potatoes are coming from a box. But I did do the homemade stuffing thing, and it's smelling pretty awesome in the oven right now.

It's also nice because today I have the chance to make Thanksgiving anything I want it to be. I got up this morning to go to Mass, which was lovely. After the homily, everyone in the church brought up the bags of groceries they had brought to church as an offering for the needy, which was a really nice symbolic thing for Thanksgiving. I felt like a bum because I hadn't brought anything, but the giving tree is up in the back of the church, so I think Andy and I will take a couple of the family needs from there this weekend to buy for Christmas.

After Mass, I put on my iPod, queued up George Winston's Winter album, and went for a walk in the park. The weather here in Thanksgiving-perfect. Chilly, but not cold at all, a bit windy, and a little overcast. The park was pretty empty, but really nice, and I felt very autumnal.

And now, the mini-pies are in the oven, the turkey and stuffing are baking, and I'm awaiting a phone call from the extended fam at home. Life is good.