Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Feeling Like the Turkey Of All Turkeys This November Season. Gobble Gobble Gobble

Post-Atlanta, pre-Nashville, and end-of-the-semester, pre-holiday chaotic, I am now preparing to host my first-ever Thanksgiving dinner at my house. I purchased a turkey earlier this month, and ran to the store after visiting a school in New Haven today to get more on top of the fact that I actually have to cook this bird.

I am feeling dog hair on everything, wondering about the CNY weather and the apples my mom and dad want to bring, and wondering if I have the hutzpah within me to actually pull off a successful bird roast that will appeal to all the appetites of family.

The roasting pan was purchases during the Writing Our Lives-Syracuse event, and soon after I got the actual turkey. I did a liquor store run today and am currently doing laundry. I have to teach until 10 pm today, and last night around 7:30, I thought, "What the heck am I supposed to feed Chitunga and I tonight, the parental units tomorrow and Wednesday, and I immediately fell into a total appreciation mode for anyone who has ever hosted a feeding gathering for the holidays in any home.

Back in the 'ville, I usually ended up at Alice and Charlie's, and for the last few years I've mooched off of Pam who loves to cook for her family. While in Syracuse, I was able to partake in the Barnwell love of Manlius, so a big Macy Day Thanksgiving shenanigan simply fell into place with minimal effort on my part.

I think that what comes around goes around and this year I'm being offered a chance to prove myself. Um, I'm scratching my head and pacing the dog-fur lined wooden floors saying, "I can do this. I can do this. I got this. Really, I got this."

The grading, the writing, the reading, the planning - they're on the agenda, too, but I also have to think proactively about celebrating all that I am thankful for, which is family (and I wish my sisters were able to join us in Connecticut, too).

The winds and chill aren't making it easier, because I simply want to build a fire (in a wood burning stove I don't have) and hide under a blanket.

I picked up Tunga a meatball grinder, so we were set for last night. Today, it's planning for class and cleaning, hoping that there's enough of a thaw that my parents can make it out of Syracuse.

But a turkey coma in my own house? Where are we all gonna fall apart and sleep? I guess that awaits to be seen.

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