Most of my friends know I’m not a big Thanksgiving fan. If it were up to me, I’d just celebrate Halloween twice and call it good. However, I have American children, and they need to know these things: time to make up the balance, and see what they actually know about this holiday.
Mendel’s answer is quick: you eat turkey. Since I have weaseled my way out of cooking a Thanksgiving bird as long as he’s been alive, this is somewhat surprising: I ask him where he is going to get this turkey.

“You go into the woods and find one,” he says.
“Then what?”
“You catch it.”
“How do you plan on doing that?”
“You catch it with a net, bring it home, and eat it.”
“Shouldn’t we cook it first?”
“Yes. Before you eat it.” (Oh, good)

I question whether it wouldn’t be easier to just buy one at the store, but he is adamant: a Thanksgiving turkey needs to be caught in the woods. Which woods, I don’t know: we live in Millard. I don’t think there are any wild turkeys available. Raccoons, yes, but I wasn’t planning on serving those for Thanksgiving.

Of course, there is much more to this Holiday than food; this is a time to remember the things we are grateful for. For many Americans, this is harder than ever, and our family is no different. It is, after all, much easier to focus on the hardships than it is on the good stuff. Yet, in this economic climate, remembering the things that are good is extremely important, lest we lose sight of what matters. We have a great family, our health, and even though it’s leaky, we have a roof over our heads. It sounds preachy, doesn’t it? Who would have thought we would be repeating our grandparents’ clichés so adamantly: “At least you have your health!” Yikes.

My children don’t care about bills and mortgages, lost bonuses and high taxes. They are eternally hopeful, and able to focus on the small pleasures. A nice lunch, an extra story before bedtime, not forgetting your swimming bag on Wednesday, and finishing your homework in under an hour. They, unlike us, live in the now, where nothing is impossible, as long as you can imagine it. Maybe this Thanksgiving, we can take a page out of their book, and forget about yesterday and tomorrow, and just treasure the moment. Take a break, and just breathe.

And if the price of turkey at the store throws us into a tailspin, well: we can always take Mendel’s advice, and catch one in the woods. Does anybody have a net we can borrow?

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