A Thanksgiving Story

Most of the cool kids don't post on Thanksgiving, but this year we aren't traveling OR hosting, so I am left with some free time, and I feel like blogging.

I'm not going to post a whole long list of things I'm thankful for because I really think it's boring to read tons of blogs just listing things people are thankful for. But in the interest of readers not thinking I'm a cold hearted bitch, I'll share a secret. I think about the things I'm thankful for every night before in bed because it helps me fall asleep, and there's a lot so I often don't even get to all of them. There, I'm not completely cynical.

If you want even more proof I didn't shed any tears at the JFK finish line, as I'd expected to, mainly because I couldn't find Eric at first and instead was hanging out with my friend Katrina but she's a new friend and I didn't want to look like a freak show. My social anxiety is so deeply rooted that it persists even after a 50 mile run when I can barely remember my own name. But after we got to the car and I called my family and they were all together getting ready for Fakesgiving (early Thanksgiving since they couldn't celebrate on the actual holiday - see my sister's blog for further information), the tears were flowing. 

Now I'd like to tell the random story of how we're spending our Thanksgiving. We made the decision a while ago not to travel, because the Thanksgiving traffic is so terrible that we only make the trek when enough time has passed for us to forget the horror. Since we traveled last year, the terror is still fresh so we decided to stay home. 

We went to San Francisco in September to attend our friends' wedding. 


At the wedding, we spent a lot of time chatting with a couple originally from Maryland. Somehow, through the course of the night we made a happy hour date with them and they invited us to their families' Thanksgiving, which is conveniently only 10 miles away!

We met up with them for hubcap margaritas last night, and while my day was such that I was really looking forward to the margarita before I'd even eaten breakfast, I was really nervous like it was a first date or something. I mean, anyone can be BFF at a wedding, where everyone is happy and in love and an open bar is provided, but what if they didn't like us in real life?

Luckily we had a great time (well, I did, and we didn't get uninvited, so hopefully they felt the same). Since all we have to do is bring two dishes and travel ten miles, I get to do some exciting stuff this year that I don't usually get to participate in. Last night I celebrated Blackout Wednesday. That's supposed to be when everyone parties like crazy on Thanksgiving Eve. My version involved finishing up our hubcap around 7pm, Eric went to work, then I walked to my BFF Casi's house, where she made me a grilled cheese sandwich and we watched Restaurant Impossible. So I may have executed that wrong, but it still beat spending 12 hours in the car.

This morning, I woke up in a panic and knew I couldn't relax until I finished the project I need to do for grad school (my anxiety is not only social, BTW). Luckily it was more tedious than thought provoking, so I was able to work on it while watching the Macy's parade. 

I attempted a 5 mile run this afternoon and thought I'd be all triumphant and JFK recovered but that's not how it went down. I know I said yesterday that I was taking it easy but the beautiful weather lured me outside with its siren's call. It turned into a 2 mile walk/run. My legs felt stiff, but the problem was my chest hurt and I was winded at the bottom of a hill. Last year I learned the hard way that if I try to screw with my lungs, my lungs will win and then punish me, so this year I'm not messing with them. 

Happy Thanksgiving!