We’re having an empty nest Thanksgiving this year!

I always “owned” Thanksgiving.  I LOVED it!  No presents, no decorations & no stress.

The kitchen has always been my comfort zone – when things got rocky, I retreated to the kitchen.  I’d pop my son up on the counter and he’d be my official counter…a very important job I assured him.  He was in charge of counting the number of eggs, cups of sugar, flour, etc.  If the counting was done incorrectly our efforts would result in failure.  He was always up to the challenge and I always knew where he was. That was almost 40 years ago, and now he’s got a family of his own and starting his own traditions.

The kitchen still represents a place where all good things start.

That’s what Thanksgiving reminds me of….my comfort zone and everybody in the kitchen sipping on a glass of wine chatting while I cooked.  It was like pure therapy.

This is my first Thanksgiving on our own.  For a time, even though the kids had families of their own our house remained the go to spot for the holiday.

They are busy with their own life now, so this is the new normal.

First the good news:

We’ll start the day off with a little something extra in our coffee and some beautiful pastries.

A little something extra

We may or may not get dressed right away.  Hanging out in our Jammies is heavenly!

My husband will take his place in the kitchen as my Sous Chef and I will cook exactly what we like, no special requests any more.  We’ll talk and sip wine as we cook.

I’ll watch the Thanksgiving parade as I slowly go about my regular kitchen duties, and because nobody is there to ridicule me, I’ll even sing along to many of the songs featured on the parade.

Later the football game will be on and there will be no screaming at the TV.  Just two people conversing while the game is on in the background.

We’ll eat a meal that makes both of us happy and grateful for the many abundant things life has given us.

Our clean up will be easy because there will be the two of us and we will only be cleaning up after ourselves.

We may even watch a movie that appeals to just us old farts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg20uxPRp0E

Take the dogs out please

We’ll make time to walk the dogs in between our activities, but we’ll do it together.  That’s not an empty nest thanksgiving!

Instead of all the weekend chores, we’ll be chore free and focus on what we have in life and not what we need in life. That’s not an empty nest Thanksgiving!

The Bad News:

There isn’t any.  The kids are off to start their own traditions.  The goal was to raise independent adults and now that’s exactly what they are.  It’s my time now.

Whatever kind of Thanksgiving you are having, I hope you have the moments to reflect and appreciate how extraordinary our lives can be.  Be the author of your own story and create the ending that’ll make you feel loved and valued.  Please share your new Empty Nest Thanksgiving ideas….the more you know.