Giving Thanks for the Week Ahead

Thanksgiving is approaching, and there is so much going on in our lives right now!

Currently, even literally as I type this, my wonderful fiancé is packing up his life's belongings to make the final move over to my house full time.  It's been an easy transition, doing a little at a time, but now we're in the final week and it's getting busy.  With a four day weekend approaching, it just made good sense to us to use that time to complete the transition and get him settled in.  Hence, we pick up a big moving truck later this week and will be trekking back and forth from his town to mine.  That part will be exhausting but worth it, and I look forward to having the satisfaction of a job well done.

Of course, this throws a wrench into Turkey day with the family.  My folks were wonderful about it when it finally dawned on me that trying to host the family and cook a big meal right in the middle of this move would have been CUH-RAZY.  I would have lost my mind, and in that scenario nobody wins.  In the end, my folks understood (thanks Mom and Dad!) and are spending the holiday eating out with some friends, instead.

That left us with the dilemma of "what should we eat and where?" when Thursday arrives.  I couldn't see skipping the holiday altogether, but I knew there was no way we'd be cooking anything, either.  So I did a little research and found a few places that are serving meals as usual, or that are doing a fancier buffet.  It didn't take long to lean towards the buffet for multiple reasons.

1. I loved going to the Officers Club on Thanksgiving when I was growing up -- they always had an incredible dinner and dessert buffet that was delicious and totally satisfying.

2. Charlie's not a lover of restaurants, at which you have to do a lot of waiting.  While he has improved and we do eat out a little more often with him, I know that being able to walk in and grab a plate will be appealing to him.  To be honest, it's appealing to me, too -- after moving furniture and boxes most of the day, I'll be famished and ready to EAT.

3. Who wouldn't want to have their Thanksgiving dinner on Cannery Row in Monterey??  Nobody, that's who.

I'll miss our usual turkey dinner with my grandmother's stuffing, but the consolation is that I'll get to enjoy it at Christmas when my brother is flying in from Hawaii and we can all be together again for the first time in a year.  I've missed having him close by after a lifetime of never being more than an hour from him.  I think it will feel like old times, which all of us needs right now.

In case you don't hear from me, have a Happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones!
Blessings,
Merrie