Thanks and Giving
Last Thanksgiving was the second-worst I had ever had. I was in Stockholm on an American study-abroad program, and I ate dinner and drank lots of wine with kids from my program who I didn't really like. It was the first one I had ever spent without my family, which is perhaps why this year, with just my immediate family and my brother's girlfriend, was possibly the best. We made an insane number of dishes for the six of us, including turkey, sweet potatoes au gratin, red cabbage, stuffing, chard, baguettes and pumpkin pie. No one was mean to anyone else, and we all helped with the cooking and cleaning.
Being at home this time around has been nice in other ways, too. I found a bunch of clothes I didn't know I still had, and made chocolate chip cookies Pinewoods-style, which my family admitted were better than my mother's. I even told my mom that I broke up with a girl, and she was genuinely sympathetic. Later, when we were out for a walk, I told her that I always feel lethargic when I'm at home. "Maybe it's because you're so relaxed," she said, "because you know you can be yourself at home." And finally, I think I do.
So, while at this time of year, I give thanks for my family, for my housemates, for my friends who listen when I whine and cry, and write back when I send letters, this year I give thanks in particular for my mother. After four years of ignoring and denouncing the queer and the feminist in me, she has found it in her heart to meet me in the middle, and I am so grateful.
Being at home this time around has been nice in other ways, too. I found a bunch of clothes I didn't know I still had, and made chocolate chip cookies Pinewoods-style, which my family admitted were better than my mother's. I even told my mom that I broke up with a girl, and she was genuinely sympathetic. Later, when we were out for a walk, I told her that I always feel lethargic when I'm at home. "Maybe it's because you're so relaxed," she said, "because you know you can be yourself at home." And finally, I think I do.
So, while at this time of year, I give thanks for my family, for my housemates, for my friends who listen when I whine and cry, and write back when I send letters, this year I give thanks in particular for my mother. After four years of ignoring and denouncing the queer and the feminist in me, she has found it in her heart to meet me in the middle, and I am so grateful.