As I was preparing for Thanksgiving last month I thought about a Thanksgiving we celebrated several  seasons ago.

That year as  November approached  I fretted over the many regrets I’d gotten in the past to my Thanksgiving invitations.

One of my cousins and his family usually celebrated with his in-laws;  another often went to an out-of-town brother;  my husband’s young relatives liked to make travel plans around their kids’ school vacations; some told me they don’t like to drive in holiday traffic; and others seemed to be perpetually committed elsewhere.  So I decided to think outside the box.

Instead of celebrating on the traditional fourth Thursday of the month,  I invited family and friends to join us on the first Sunday in November for what I billed as “Early Thanksgiving”.  To my delight everyone said yes!

I told my son to make his special gravy,  and I asked my cousins to bring the beer and wine.  Then I went shopping for the turkey and the fixings,  remembering to get extra sides for the  vegetarians and the gluten-free folks,  and biscuits for our relatives who had asked to bring their dog.

Soon the big day arrived.  We ate and drank,  laughed and talked,  and gave thanks for all our blessings.

When the feast was over we all declared it the very best Thanksgiving ever!

POSTSCRIPT

A few days later I was back at the supermarket to pick up a few things and I noticed the aisles were still festooned with cardboard turkeys and pilgrim hats.  And I saw dozens of basters and aluminum roasting pans, and jumbo cans of yams and pumpkin pie filling still on the shelves.

I marched over to the customer service desk and confronted Nathan, the store manager.

”I think it’s high time you took down all those Thanksgiving decorations and took the holiday foods off the shelves!”,  I announced smugly.

Although usually a friendly and loquacious guy,  Nathan just stared at me,  his mouth slightly agape as I turned on my heel and marched out of the store.

I was a block from home when it hit me.  Although we had celebrated on the previous Sunday and I was in a post-holiday mindset,  the rest of the country would be celebrating on the fourth Thursday of the month – still three weeks away.

I walked back to the store and apologized to Nathan.  He was thankful.

Dana Susan Lehrman

Dana Susan Lehrman
This retired librarian loves big city bustle and cozy country weekends, friends and family, good books and theatre, movies and jazz, travel, tennis, Yankee baseball, and writing about life as she sees it on her blog World Thru Brown Eyes!
www.WorldThruBrownEyes.com

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