Back in the days before online shopping and the World Wide Web, Thanksgiving Day was big day for local newspapers. Along with all the Black Friday circulars, the main paper itself was enormous. We’d stockpile feature stories throughout the month to make sure we could fill all the extra space in that Thursday’s paper! The week wasn’t quite as crazy as it is for retailers, but it was pretty busy.
When I left newspapers, my new publications didn’t have Black Friday ads. Instead, Thanksgiving was a four–and-a-half-day weekend to look forward to along with celebrations with loved ones. And food! Either way, though – whether it was a lot more work or much less – Thanksgiving was a major landmark of the year, and a significant break in my usual weekly routine.
In this first year of retirement, I expect the holiday itself to be like the ones I’ve had before; but the days leading up to be . . . not as “different”. Yes, I’ll be cooking more. And I’ll have more time to cook, instead of putting together a tight schedule of what to make on Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday afternoon & night, and possibly Thursday morning.
However, I don’t think it will feel like a landmark-of-the-year week. Monday probably won’t feel that different from Sunday, except for the football schedule and cooking during the day. It may not seem that much different than the Monday before, either.
I’m very grateful for the extra time to cook my holiday goodies! And I certainly don’t wish I was working full time again, just so I could appreciate some days off. It’s hard to put into words exactly. But it just feels a little bit disconcerting, that the start of this always very special week will somehow be less out-of-the-ordinary.
Despite the change in rhythm-of-the-seasons, though, I’m looking forward to the feast as much as ever. And to celebrating with friends and family! Even as I worry about the future of our country and the world, I feel like I also have a lot to be thankful for personally, at least at this moment in time. I hope you do, too. How long that will last, who knows. But do we ever?
Wishing you and yours a healthy, happy and safe Thanksgiving.
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