Thanksgiving > Christmas

Dearest Kim,

You are 100% correct.
Thanksgiving is the most underrated holiday.
Everyone kind of sees it as "that day that you eat a lot of food to sustain yourself for the Black Friday shopping spree."
Epicly, epicly false.
I will also choose not to go into the topic of Black Friday, because that could take approx 10348829 blogs to vent about it.
I mean seriously...last year on LI...a man was STAMPEDED TO DEATH after he was simply trying to open the doors for the ravenous beasts outside.

Bah.
Anyway.

Thanksgiving
You get off work.
You get to sleep.
You get to have a moment in time where you can eat and eat and eat.
And not worry about the calories.
(If you are that person that chooses not to indulge on Thanksgiving because you're worried about the caloric intake, then you can take a long walk off of the shortest pier you can find. You're careful about eating 364 days of the year. Just fucking DO IT. God. One day of insane eating is not going to kill you. Fact. You have more statistical odds of me coming to find you and kill you.)
All in all, it's a spot of time to get some of the best R+R, and while you're at it, have some time to bond with the crazies (aka the family).

My favorite thing about the holiday is spending time with the family, and hearing all sorts of funny stories that my mother shares after having one glass of wine.
Yes I said one.
Her tolerance is not as it used to be - making two for one nights highly dangerous.

Things I learned:
- My father once crashed a wedding in Ireland. He did this NOT to enjoy the free food/booze and pick up women, but because my sister was refusing to sleep. She was 4 years old...motion put her to sleep usually, but even a 1 hour car ride did nothing...and my dad danced with her circa 5 minutes...then she passed out. New usage for crashing? I think so.
- My sister used to eat raw hamburger meat. Kind of like when your mom put out frozen peas/carrots to thaw...and you might have sneaked a couple...yeah. Well she did that too, except with the meat. I am actually quite proud of this, and have made a rational conclusion that I always knew I was right when I said that I had vampire in my blood.
- I used to enjoy running under the table, when I realized I was the perfect height to do so without having to crouch, and kicking relatives' knees. Specifically, I would always choose to kick my poor elderly great-aunt's knees. I don't this anymore, I swear.

Even though at times we get annoyed at them and swear we're not related to them...deep down inside we all know that without family, we are nothing. It's nice to be able to get together and share some love. Some of us may not get to see our families a lot during the year as is.
So take this time to really be thankful for them.
Help your mother with cooking.
Wash some dishes with Dad.
Listen to crazy Uncle Eddie's story, even it is for the 8th time.
And share your own story with Grandpa Frank, even if he can't hear it.

Christmas is more about stress.
Everyone puts too much emphasis on the gift giving and spending frenzy, and not enough on the actual time spent with family and loved ones. With Thanksgiving all you do is EAT, DO NOTHING, and appreciate others.
Thanksgiving > Christmas?
I think so.


Love always,
MaryEllen

And remember this piece of knowledge...
Me: If this is such a family oriented holiday, why do they bother with playing football today?
Mom: Well the men have to have *something* to do while the women cook everything.
Fact.