This is Thanksgiving week in the United States, a time when we normally gather as families to celebrate and be thankful.
I’ve missed out on a proper family Thanksgiving celebration very few times in my life – the four years I lived in Wales and once when Michael and I had both fallen ill. Otherwise, the holiday always meant extended family, traditions, the stories we tell every year, the fits of laughter – no, it’s more like giggling. A LOT of giggling.
That won’t happen this year. Michael isn’t much of a giggler, and while we will talk with family by phone or video, it’s just not the same, is it? The treasured moments are the unexpected ones, the goofs or near-miss of disasters, the shared moments.
It’s the ongoing calculations when you only have one oven. How many dishes have to be baked?
It’s many efforts to get the sink unclogged because one of the young cousins put too many vegetable peelings down the disposal at once (that will make a GREAT story when he’s older).
It’s the quiet chats or hearing those funny stories that are marginally true but hilarious as told.
It’s a VERY Different Year
In a year when so much has been different because of the virus, it would be so tempting to abandon your nutrition plan and dive into all the traditional favorites to have SOMETHING that feels normal.
If you choose that, just enjoy every bite, savoring the flavors, scents, and textures. Or perhaps you’ll allow yourself a taste of your favorites rather than a full portion or limit your intake in another way.
Perhaps you’ll use alternative or clone recipes that still fit your plan to help maintain your progress without a blip.
Or perhaps you’ll choose to do completely different foods and activities.
Maybe you won’t be with the food pushers this year and can choose for yourself what you most want without risking offending your mother, mother-in-law, or great auntie—and practice not being so worried about that.
This is the year you truly get to choose. What will it be?
Holiday Accountability Help
If you need some help through the holidays, registration for my accountability group is now open. We’ll meet weekly on Tuesdays, December 1-January 5, and there will be a morning and an evening group, but don’t delay. I can only take 12 per group, so hop over to www.packyourownbag.com/group to sign up.
Happy Thanksgiving.
