Thanksgiving in the Spirit...and in the Moment

Let's start with Thanksgiving "in the Spirit"... we awoke (again) to the warming Bangalore morning, palm trees swaying gently, yoga at 6:30 with my bud Tracy, call home to family and friends so close they're family too, good day at work - where I'm immensely grateful for the opportunity to be here working with the best team and (hopefully) making a difference, followed by Thanksgiving dinner with my wonderful "boys" Wade and Caden, great friends and other expats at a local restaurant before being driven home. I tried to explain to a few inquisitive friends what Thanksgiving was about...uh, "giving thanks" and...er..."eating WAY too much with your family"...and stuff. But taking a few minutes to reflect left me pretty sappy, and truly, we have so much to be thankful for - the most amazing and supportive family, good health, great times, and an amazing experience.
Thanksgiving "in the moment" varies a little by expat, but in my opinion, we got a few things right and a few things missing. First of all, we definitely got the choas right - about 40 people in a spot reserved for 25 (15 of the them children between 2 and 8 years old). So we were surrounded by laughter, giggles, talking, food and the occasional "put that rock down!". I think a few of the single expats and the owner of the restaurant also swore off children...ever. So about right for level of volume. :)
We went to a place called "the Only Place" and I have to say they did a pretty good attempt - turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, garlic bread, pumpkin pie. Depending on your personal taste / expectation, this may have been a-ok.
We fed the kids first (also in Thanksgiving tradition) and things seemed to be going quite well!
Of course, my picky, picky eater was not as impressed...electing to eat the granola bar Wade had packed. Oh, and yes, I am eating bread. I have to say, the lingering fear ("where did they get turkey...I wonder if it will kill me...well, it has been a while since I've been sick anyway...") coupled with the fact that the turkey was really cold cuts (thin and refrigerated cold), did keep the portion size substantially down! But the mashed potatoes and gravy were a welcome sight, and pretty darn good actually. It was a little odd to be swatting away the mosquitos at Thanksgiving, but...no bundling up required! It was bring your own beverage...and if us expats know anything, it's how to bring enough beverages!! So for about $15 a plate, we had a not-bad, not-good pass at Thanksgiving.

But...next year, I will be WAY more thankful for grandma and grandpa's Thanksgiving spread...mmmmm I can almost taste it! Not to mention being home with family and leisurely chatting all day (NOT on Skype), thumbing through the ads in the paper, drinking coffee...and eating leftovers!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!