Leftovers? What Leftovers?

Growing up, it never occurred to me that my family was close-knit. But we are. Even as my brother, sister and I went away to college and set up homes of our own, we all seem to use each other as a touchstone. And when we all descend upon our parents’ house for Christmas, no matter what dates, spouses or children we may bring with us, it’s almost as though we’re back to the best days of growing up together.

Thanksgiving is a little different. Rather than getting together in our childhood home, my parents meet us all in Orlando, and we go to a buffet.

The genesis of this tradition was a complete accident. Back when he was in high school, my brother had a soccer tournament over Thanksgiving weekend. He had to be checked in for his first game at an insanely early hour. Rather than getting up and driving a few hours at an even more absurd hour (you know, when some people shop now), we drove out to the tournament city on Thanksgiving morning and went to the buffet our hotel was hosting.

My grandmother thought this was horrific. How dare we have a holiday dinner away from home?! Who would make sure all of the dishes my family loved would be at the table? What about the leftovers? Napping on the couch after? You can’t do that in a hotel.

My parents laid down the law. Gram could come with us or not, but this tournament was important to my brother. To make sure he was there on time and fit to play, we had to be there on Thanksgiving.

We missed my grandmother that year, but something remarkable happened. No one cared whether all of our favorites were on the buffet. No one fought over the last serving of anything. And no one missed most of the meal because they were constantly going back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room. We just sat and enjoyed each other’s company.

We had so much fun together that until we saw my grandmother a few days later, it didn’t occur to any of us that we didn’t have any leftovers. When she tried to lord that over us, Gram was shocked that we were nonplussed. Needless to say, the next year my grandmother joined us at the buffet and loved it.

My family is the thing I am most grateful for. But all of the people who work on Thanksgiving so that we can enjoy each other come in a close second. Those people have no idea what a tremendous gift they give my family every year. Thank you to everyone who works on holidays. I hope that from time to time someone gives you the same opportunity you give others.

Happy Thanksgiving!