No End in Sight!

It’s an extreme understatement to note that this has been a very unusual year. We’re not sure how the rest of you in the US decided to celebrate (or not celebrate) the Thanksgiving holiday, but we started in October. Yep, over a month early, and the festivities continue with no end in sight! Hey, gratitude is a great path to health and happiness, so why confine ourselves to a single day?

We arrived for our first celebration in three separate cars, one for each family group. We improvised widely distanced picnicking spots at a mostly deserted campground in the high Uintah mountains of Utah. We positioned ourselves on a log, a couple of large rocks, and a single table while we relished a physically not-too-close but emotionally connected gathering with two of our adult daughters. All our daughters are excellent cooks and imaginative, so we highly recommend their heart-warming, tradition-busting menu of roast beef sandwiches on crisp sour dough bread topped with thin slices of cheddar cheese, tart apples, purple onions and a dab of zippy horseradish. A never to be forgotten delight!

On Sunday evening before this year’s official Thanksgiving, we gathered with four family groups for a pie party on zoom. Everyone agreed to get their own pies and meet at the appointed hour to dig into the sweetness. We bantered back and forth on our WhatsApp family chat about what kind of pies we love but decided to keep our selections secret until the final reveal. Here at home we talked first about making pumpkin pie, but finally settled on chocolate cream. And guess what? One by one as each family signed on, there for all to behold was…chocolate cream pie! Unanimous top pick, and another fun memory to tuck away for a lonely night. So much to be grateful for.

We’re writing this post on Monday, the day after pie day. This morning we picked up a frozen turkey from the curbside delivery spot at our local grocery store and set it in the fridge to thaw. We’ll roast it on Thursday, as is traditional, but eat it outside, which is definitely different, but, who knows, may become part of a great new family tradition. We’ll have two backyard fire pits going, 15 feet apart, so we can safely share the feast with one of our sons.

But we won’t have pie after dinner. That’s the worst time for pie! Think about it. You’re already stuffed, so maybe you wait a while, but you’re still pretty satiated whenever you serve pie after turkey dinner. So, in a relatively new yet already beloved tradition which we started a few years ago, Thanksgiving Day pie will come first, right after a brisk morning hike to the top of a mountain. Bake your pie the night before, pack a nice big piece and carefully position it in a backpack so it won’t get smooshed. Climb a favorite hill and watch dawn light up the city as you eat it together, socially, but not emotionally, distanced this year. Now that’s delicious pie!

We hope that no matter what joys and sorrows have come your way this unusual year, you find ways to deepen your gratitude, share it, then share it again and again with those you love and care about. No end in sight!

Happy Failing Forward,

Anne and Calvert