Happy Thanksgiving!

(Why are you reading blogs on Thanksgiving? You should be bonding with friends or family! And in case you ask why I'm blogging on Thanksgiving, I'll have you know I'm writing this Tuesday night to post later in the week.)

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I will share with my readers my best and worst Thanksgivings ever:

THE WORST: When I was 20, on Thanksgiving day I was driving my dad and my brother down the highway to my grandmother's house in Ohio. It started to snow, and I tapped the brakes. My dad grumbled, "Why are you slowing down?" We passed a truck scattering gravel on the road, and soon after, I lost control of the car. So this is how I'm going to die, I thought as I skidded across the passing lane and slammed into a ditch.

Luckily the three of us were fine, although the pumpkin pies in the back seat got a little sloshed. A tow truck towed our car and took us to a service station, and then we waited at a truck stop for my mom to come pick us up. My poor grandmother had to eat her Thanksgiving feast alone. My brother still refers to it as "the worst Thanksgiving ever." Still, I'm glad I had one Thanksgiving that set the bar for success very low; as long as we don't end up in a ditch, we're having a good Thanksgiving indeed.

THE BEST: Two years later, I was in my second year of studying in England. I asked my Austrian friend Eva if she wanted to have turkey sandwiches with me on Thanksgiving, since no one else would be celebrating. Instead, Eva suggested we cook a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We figured out how to prepare a turkey and invited lots of people we knew. There were some non-traditional touches; for example, I have never had Brussels sprouts at an American Thanksgiving, and my family rarely served wine.

In the end, we had two Americans, two Canadians, an Austrian, a German, a New Zelander, a Romanian, and a Brit celebrate Thanksgiving in a small dorm room. Our guests were impressed that Americans have a holiday centered around family, one that transcends commercialism or a particular religious tradition. They even said nice things about my pumpkin pie. I remember being moved because it was a celebration in the spirit of the first Thanksgiving, with people from different cultures sitting down together to share a meal.

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This year, we'll be in Chicago for our first Midwestern Thanksgiving. Fingers crossed we don't end up in a ditch on the way....

Photo by freaque on flickr.com.