Imagining a Thanksgiving

Wednesday, November 24, 2021 (December’s fullest moon [“Cold Moon”] rises on the 18th.)

Well, we’re approaching, “Happy Thanksgiving”. Yesterday, hundreds of times in my cashiering work, I repeated those words. Nearly all customers leaving my register paused, smiled, returned the greeting.

There were hundreds dashing to stock up on smoker pellets, meat rubs, and more, in moods generally good. I encountered only one who appeared morose, angry, impossible to connect with pleasantly. Early in my shift, she made me feel confused and bummed out. Afterwards I needed several minutes to refocus my perspective, again enjoy my work.

What might make her tight and offish before Thanksgiving. So many folks find this holiday difficult. People are encouraged to anticipate happy gatherings of family and friends and doing what most of us love–fixing, sharing, and eating great food. Relationships are complex and family and friend gatherings often uneasy.

To be honest, I usually don’t accept invitations to family Thanksgivings. The reason, I’m a single woman with a big interest in horses, without husband or children, not fond of traveling, nor a church-goer. It’s difficult to be comfortable through special family events with even the nicest folks. Lacking easy topics in common, briefer encounters improve casual friendships.

On Thanksgiving, people cook, decorate to make the day special, and invite. It took a long time to learn to say no to folks I enjoy. Too many times, while squirming through a family’s disputes and tensions, I’ve wished myself back home with my critters.

Surprisingly, this year I accepted an invitation. The gathering family has a farm, is horsey, and hosting “horsey friends”. I’ll tune into others’ stories and topics, maybe share some of mine.

Otherwise, Thanksgiving makes me consider conflicts surrounding the grand event. Perhaps they’re partially from trying to emulate stories we KNOW are untrue. Those associated to America’s First Happy Thanksgiving with Happy Sharers. By association, contemporary events of thankfulness might feel less real, gentle, inviting.

Dear Friends: As to relationships vs. expectations, all’s uber complex. Diana