Let the holidays begin!
What an incredible hassle it was for all those traveling for Thanksgiving — plus the rush to shop on Black Friday. Michigan had an extra hassle bonus — snow. Most northern dwellers wish for snow on Christmas but not many wanted to see it so early.
Traffic in most urban areas and along major highways was thick. AAA had announced 46.6 million people would travel 50 miles or more to celebrate the holiday, the greatest number since 2007. They also predicted 89 percent of them would be on the highways because gas prices were the lowest in seven years. The peak traffic will come on Sunday when everyone who traveled to visit family will be on the road headed home.
Many of us have family members spread all over the country, and it’s difficult to gather them together for turkey day. You have to seek another solution, like I did this year. Move the holiday ahead a week! Sure I still traveled but I had clear roads, no back-ups, not even a fender bender along the way. Plus no crazy drivers pushing to get there for the big event.
Another big plus about moving the holiday ahead, you avoid all the crowds in the grocery store. The turkeys aren’t picked over, and you can get one that isn’t frozen.
I prefer a fresh turkey, homemade dressing and homemade pumpkin pie, plus a nap immediately after. Our meal this year, with one of our family members, was just perfect and no disasters with the turkey.
One year we tried to deep fry it and the charred remains had to be peeled off before we could carve it. It really was very tasty under the crust. This year even the rolls made it to the table on time. Sometimes we forget them and they show up dark on the bottoms.
Not only did I get to visit my daughter Lynn and her husband, Mike, grandson Nathan introduced us to a delightful young lady who may soon join our family.
The next big holiday rush is yet to come, Christmas shopping. I’ve suggested we do that ahead of time also, but it will likely start tomorrow and continue until Dec. 24. The coming celebrations will include the usual decorations and well wishes — I hope they will be without criticism of how they are expressed. I know what I’ll be saying, “Merry Christmas.”
Thanksgiving is a time for expressing gratefulness. As I See It, observing the horrific events taking place around the world, we need to express sorrow for the losses families are suffering but gratefulness that we are still safe.