Chill Out

            With Thanksgiving this week I find myself in panic mode. Seriously, how did it get here so quickly? Wasn’t it just summer? I don’t know why I always do this to myself. I wait until the last minute to menu plan, to cook, to clean, to take the dogs to the groomer. Then to add to the pressure I decide to participate in various writing challenges.

 At least I can say that this year I’m not doing NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month), the 50,000 words in November challenge, but I did sign on for the daily thirty minute sprint. How many words can I write in thirty minutes and will they all be crap? So here I sit, writing when I should be showered and dressed and heading to the grocery store.

The first mistake I made was committing to the writing challenge; the second mistake I made was asking my husband what dishes (or culinary opuses he especially wanted for Thanksgiving dinner.)  His reply was, “the usual.” Then he proceeded to name things that I’ve never made for Thanksgiving dinner. Broccoli and rice casserole, candied yams, real stuffing (not the vegetarian version I always make for our daughter), and giblet gravy (again, not the vegetarian gravy I always make for our daughter). Wow, all of this in addition to the forty-seven other dishes I prepare will not only be a ton of work, but where the hell am I going to put all of this food?

            The third mistake: Not buying a new back-up refrigerator a month ago. The refrigerator in the guest house (aka the garage apartment, aka the storage room) is dead, kaput, pushing up daisies. The refrigerator in the main house is not that big, having to conform to the space allotted to refrigerators when the house was built in 1932. This morning while listing the dishes he would like for Thanksgiving dinner my husband also suggested I buy a new refrigerator today. Sure, because I have nothing else to do but drive all over town in hopes of finding a refrigerator that can be delivered before Thanksgiving.

            The fourth mistake was thinking that I could actually pull off a stress free holiday dinner. Yesterday I actually convinced myself that I would buy almost everything pre-made. A smoked turkey breast instead of a big-ass turkey and maybe a small ham. I even crossed several side dishes off of the menu. But no! I’ve already had requests for the items I eighty-sixed. Even though there will be only three people (3 PEOPLE!) at my Thanksgiving table I am cooking for a crowd.

That is perhaps the fifth mistake; the Thanksgiving leftover party which I host every year on the Saturday night after turkey day for all of our friends and neighbors. The party is great fun and supposedly a great way to get rid of leftovers. The only thing is I have to make a huge meal in order to ensure I have adequate leftovers. The point of the party is to give everyone the opportunity to get rid of their leftovers by sharing them in a huge tryptophan buffet. But the reality is I end up with everyone else’s leftovers in addition to mine. Plus, I have to clean my house for company.

Oh well, it is the holiday season. Let the cooking, the cleaning, the stressing and the eating begin. Seriously, why do we do this to ourselves? I guess it’s to prep for that other holiday that comes on the heels of Thanksgiving. The one where you not only have to cook and clean for a crowd, but buy ridiculously expensive gifts that no one needs, and travel cross country on airplanes that lose your luggage and have endless delays. I know I sound like a Grinch, but just thinking about that broccoli and rice casserole has a tendency to turn me slightly green.

There is a silver lining to the holiday craziness. The silver lining is family. My youngest daughter will be here for Thanksgiving and her presence makes up for all the special vegetarian dishes I have to prepare. The stress I will suffer during my Christmas travel will be worth it in the end when I get to spend time with my oldest daughter, son-in-law, and my beautiful grandchildren. So, I’m going to take a deep breath, make an extensive grocery list, and give myself an attitude adjustment. I need to remember these wise words: Chill out. Oh, and buy a refrigerator.