This year the table is set for four, not eighteen or twenty or whatever ridiculous amount of place settings we try to squeeze in. Our moms, the boys grandmas, will not be joining us. No neighbors or friends will be arriving, dishes in hand to add to our turkey feast. No hustle and bustle of last minute cleaning. No scramble to find enough plates and chairs. No extra hands in the kitchen to baste the bird, stir the gravy, mash the potatoes.
2020 is anything but normal but we are still having our traditional, family created Practice Thanksgiving celebration. It is, after all, tradition and the 20th year of our beloved holiday.
And while I miss the busy energy and the excitement of hosting a large sit down meal, on this 20th Practice Thanksgiving, I noticed something.
I noticed that Cody knows how to make stuffing from scratch all by himself. He even stuffed part of the bird before he was “grossed out” and allowed me to do the rest.
I noticed that Carter did not complain once about making the deviled eggs. Without a recipe, he organized the ingredients, dried mustard, paprika, were found in our spice basket, eggs thoughtfully arranged on the special plate my mom made.
Husband organized the crackers and took down the items rarely used from high places beyond my reach.
I noticed that I moved through the kitchen, hands buttery from prepping the turkey, with confidence, the kitchen wisdom of my mom and mother-in-law settled within me.
While this marks the 20th Practice Thanksgiving, I have yet to host actual Thanksgiving. I have never made this entire meal alone. But I noticed that I was not alone. For so many years Cody, Carter, and Husband have been there all along and continue to be.
The bird comes out of the oven in about an hour. The mad flurry of green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, and turkey carving is about to be unleashed. It seems with this meal that so much happens all at once.
And then we will all be seated, our meal in various dishes and platters spread up and down our table. It will be worth it. For desert, because it is just the four of us, I got brave and made a crème brulee. It is chilling in the fridge, waiting for me to add the caramelized sugar topping, sprig of mint, and raspberry.
I know you don’t celebrate it, but I want to wish you a very happy Practice Thanksgiving, whatever you find yourself doing today.
Shoes On The Wrong Feet 
What a wonderful idea and delicious feast!
We look forward to it every year.
Practice Thanksgiving, I love it! Now please pass the Brie…
😉
Cody picked out the cheeses this year – a mild Brie and a wonderful Havarti with dill.
Love this post so much. I am so happy that you had practice Thanksgiving, stepped up as a family, and recognized all of your efforts. It is fun, isn’t it? I am sure there is a lot of beauty in the usual big celebration, but opportunities like this one highlight what matters and give us a chance to notice what we often miss. Thank you for bringing gentleness and gratitude into my day. Lovely, lovely post.
Ahh, thank you for your sweet comment. We did have a family discussion this year about having Practice Thanksgiving on the actual Thanksgiving as it looks like Thanksgiving is not going to be a thing this year. I felt that if we did that, it wouldn’t really count as a Practice. I’m so glad we decided to press on and host it just for us. It was very nice. The boys voiced their thanks and mentioned several times how much work went into the feast, but no one complained about pitching in. We even all got a turn with the kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar on the creme brulee!
fantastic idea, I love this post!!
Thanks! We love our Practice Thanksgiving around here. 🙂
Everything looks fabulous. I like how everyone chipped in and made it a successful event.
Your practise thanksgiving is the same weekend as Canadian thanksgiving. 😊
Yes, it sometimes is. Our self-created holiday is a floating holiday where the date each year is determined by the availability and level of convenience for both us and our guests.