Thanksgiving is once again upon us after a long and debilitating year with war in Israel, hostages still not released, a presidential election with a lot of media posturing and analyzing ad nauseum, and the lineup of fashion designers vying for the honor of having their signature designs picked for the numerous presidential inaugural parties and balls that will be coming up in January, dresses to be seen and gawked at by all.
After the depressing events and tumult of the previous year, I find that having an old-fashioned American Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends with all the time-honored foods: turkey, stuffing, yams, gravy, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie, lemon meringue pie, apple pie, and plenty of good wine. Wow, my mouth is watering already! Just catching up and having a plain old good time is a respite we all desperately need—even if it’s only for one day—from the ongoing distress of what is happening in Israel.
Thanksgiving was also a time for potluck on who was hosting and how far you had to drive to get there. If the relative hosting Thanksgiving happened to live nearby, you were considered lucky. Somehow, when I was a kid, I remember sitting in the car for hours as we drove to my aunt’s house in New Jersey, a drive that would normally take under an hour. Or else the reverse occurred, and after we rolled out of there as big and full as the stuffed turkey, we would have to sit in traffic for hours on the way home.
I’m not sure why after eating so much all day, but as soon as we got home at night after the holiday feast, we were always hungry and ready to eat all over again! The house with all the leftovers was definitely the best place to be at the end of the day. I think this is the reason I tend to volunteer to host Thanksgiving dinner at my house each year. The leftovers are a delight and take me through the entire weekend long after Thanksgiving is done and over.
I started a new first during the dinner in my home. Although we have one TV on with the games that the guys want to keep track of during the meal, the big TV in the den is reserved for handpicked movie marathons for the kids (and the kids at heart).
This has now become a time-honored event, and the discussions on what movies are going to be played for this marathon are being vetted by child lobbyists who want to make sure the movies they like are going to be considered before all others. Needless to say, these discussions begin after Sukkot and are changed and re-voted on regularly until a few days before Thanksgiving.
For some reason which I’ve never figured out, the week of Thanksgiving is always bone-chilling cold or even decent temperatures with ferocious winds that make the wind chill factor seem like the temperature is below zero.
Either way, cold never stands in the way for the time-honored, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and I encourage everyone to do their best to at least get to this parade at least once in your lives since the experience is really special—and not the same as watching it on TV!
Most of all, I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving to relax, enjoy your families and friends, and to relish a day where no matter what your religion or where you’re from, everyone celebrates and is thankful to be an American. n
Anessa Cohen lives in Cedarhurst and is a Licensed Real Estate Broker (Anessa V Cohen Realty) with over 20 years of experience offering residential, commercial and management real estate services. You are invited to visit her website at http://www.avcrealty.com/. She can be reached at 516-569-5007 and readers are encouraged to send any questions or comments by email to anessa@avcrealty.com.
