The night before Thanksiving (Thanksgiving Eve/Reunion Night/Hey, How You Been Night), is when everyone is back in their hometown after sometimes a year or so (unless of course you live there...).
Most hometowns have their hot spot for Wednesday night where most people congregate for an informal reunion of sorts.
Since Facebook is what connects us all (check out how FB has made the 7 degrees of seperation...SMALLER), the "need" for this reunion, or the amount that you can talk about is reduced. I can ask you how you're doing, but the likely case is for the most part I know what part of the city you live in, if you're dating, if you're working, and what your general weight is (and if it's changed) since the last time I saw you.
This makes the Hey, how you been? question a bit less authentic and more small talk than it ever was...and I'm pretty sure it's always been that way, in some capacity.
It is nice, though, to have an excuse to see people from childhood that you don't typically go out of the way of seeing, but I feel the pleasantries are nice and nostalgic.
For those of you who didn't like high school, maybe you avoid this night all together or it's anxiety provoking because you're not really sure how you'll be received, or you could not care less about the folks going. I encourage you to go out and give people another shot, who knows who you might connect with.
I enjoy going, I loved high school, actually. For the most part it is an excuse to see my friends, and an opportunity to connect with people I haven't in ages.
This year I'm really going to work on being extra non-judgmental.
I mean typically I'm not really, but I'm hoping that my non-judgement is reciprocated when people ask "so where are you living" and I tell them "around the corner with my mah".
Maybe they'll have read this by then and not even ask me. Maybe they'll have read this by then and still ask me and pass judgement. Either way, we're all in different places in our lives, so F off if you care that much about my financial situation. Okie? :)
Next year around this time (is my guess) we'll be having our official 10 year reunion.
I just threw up in my mouth a little.
Yeah, we're getting old. You know who you are.
Two years ago was the last time that I was willing to go to our Thanksgiving Eve "hotspot" because I realized that some of the people I babysat for when I was younger were drunk and LEGAL to do so, and that everyone looked about 12 years old, and about 90 lbs. Bleh.
So last year I decided, with friends, to branch out from where we had been going essentially since the middle of college...and it was a much quieter, more adult, you could actually walk around the bar without literally bumping and pushing people who knew you when you were awkward, and overall a more friendly time. We'll see where we all end up this year, I might feel the need to do a bit of bar/restaurant hopping to get the right feel/combo of people. We'll see.
**Also, as a friendly reminder, the next couple days are really dangerous for drunk driving. Since you'll be home, don't be ashamed to ask Mom or Dad or your little sister to come pick you up...it's better than missing Thanksgiving all-together. This time of year marks the loss of some people I know as a result of driving accidents, so take care, drink responsibly, and drive safely.**
Speaking of, the holiday season can be anniversaries of things, or bring up memories of things that can be really tough for people. You would think that it would be all fun and games, but for people who have painful memories of family members who are no longer with us, or remembering fighting over the dinner table, or remember financial troubles around this time, it can be a tough time. There are things in my life that have made parts of this season painful, but I refuse to let anything tarnish my Thanksgiving day, I will only let it be enjoyable.
Thanksgiving happens to be my favorite holiday, mostly because of the stuffing (which I'm not even sure I can eat, more about this in a post coming soon). A couple of my cousins won't be making it this year, but otherwise for the most part my whole mom's side of the family gets together and eats and drinks and enjoys our time.
My grandmother always asks us to go around and share what we're thankful for which makes us squirm a little, but frankly we need to do this. We need to remember what we're thankful for. There are so many things in our lives we complain about, wish were different, envy about others, and take advantage of, that we need to take the time (more frequently, frankly) and remind ourselves of this.
I'm thankful for: my supportive family (extended and immediate), my friends who I can tell anything to and they love me anyway, my friends who I'm getting closer to, or have known me forever and who I so appreciate having a great time with, for my bosses for being great supports of my new career and encouraging me to be a great therapist (and showing me how by example), for my overall health and well being, for the health of most of the people I care about (and for those who are sick or passed away, for my opportunity to know and love them when they were healthy and alive, I'm thankful for my luck, my opportunities, my failures I've learned from and the future I have ahead of me...just to name a few.
I asked Facebook what people were thankful for, and only a handful of people answered. I was pretty surprised by this, I might ask again. As of today the common answers were health, family, friends and job. I have to say, if you've got 3 of 4 of those things, you're doing pretty well...sadly not everyone has those. Please feel free to post a comment about what you're thankful for, I think it encourages others to think about it and when we write these things I think it's helpful for us too (hence why I even have a blog in the first place).
Cheers, be well, be thankful and happy holiday season kick off.
Until next time,
Thankfull-E
PS. I can't write about Thanksgiving without at least acknowledging this:
The one thing that does somewhat tarnish Thanksgiving (and means we just need to be even MORE thankful) is that Thanksgiving has a dark past. Like Columbus Day I think there are many things wrong with celebrating the deceiving, taking advantage of and killing of almost an entire race of people. But I'll leave politics/history/controversy at the door, and let myself enjoy the holiday, seeing family, probably some of you, and some of my other friends.
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