Happy Thanksgiving!

By Preston Young, MBA

The eye roll, you know the eye roll I’m referring to. You have given it and more than likely received it. It is usually given after a relative has made a remark or comment about their political, religious, or world belief and you can’t believe they’re sharing those views at the Thanksgiving Day table. You may have rolled your eyes for that reason, or because a relative won’t stop talking about an embarrassing story from your childhood, or maybe they keep complaining about the food you spent days preparing for them. We all have gone through it; it’s what Thanksgiving is all about! More importantly, it’s about everyone being present.

I grew up with split parents and the deal that was worked out was a rotating holiday schedule. One year I would spend Thanksgiving with my father and his family, the next I would spend it with my mother and her family. So on and so forth for the rest of the holidays as well. Both my parents love the holidays and wanted to make it easiest for me, it worked. Their efforts were successful in that this is one of my favorite times of the year. 

We have always started the marathon of eating around 1 o’clock and would continue with different courses throughout the day. Antipasto, soup, pasta, bread, turkey and all the sides and finally a table full of desserts were staples in our family, no matter the side of family I was with. Either way, there were family, friends, and good food, these are the happy moments I treasure. 

Included in all the family, friends and food are the can’t miss television shows. The Macy’s parade is a must see, even with the bad lip syncing and freezing dancers. Followed by an afternoon of hard played football, even if we have to watch the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. In the early 1900’s, the Lions had a hard time drawing crowds to their games and viewership on T.V. so their owner convinced NBC to broadcast a Thanksgiving Day game and they have played every Thanksgiving ever since. Thanks goodness, I can’t imagine a Thanksgiving with no football!

To wrap up this holiday we celebrate annually, bringing family and friends together is why we do it. There are no guarantees in life, people you sit next to every year may not be there the next. We don’t want missed opportunities or lost conversations. We will continue to sit through the same stories told by sweet but forgetful relatives. We recently lived through a worldwide pandemic; time is really what we have to share with everyone this holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!

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