Oh, Thanksgiving....

I'm incredibly grateful for this typical Thanksgiving holiday with (most of) my family.

There's the typical teasing from my dad, which on some occasions I'm equipped to handle but on this occasion, I apparently was not. Interaction with Dad is sometimes like a kill-or-be-killed situation. You either accept and deflect (and reflect) his teasing or you absorb it, internalize it and want to kill him by the end of your time together. In the second situation, both of you are miserable. Of course the first situation is preferable... but it takes a strong person to get to that place. Sometimes in my life I am that person, sometimes I'm not.

This year, I decided that I was going to try to start a diet the week of Thanksgiving. I know, it's hilarious to me now... I had a hard time writing that sentence. So I brought these recipes and successfully made 2 of them: a delicious soup and a poached salmon dish. The 3rd one that I just finished is not so pretty, but I hope it tastes good. Of course my family thinks I'm crazy for wanting to cook when we could just eat out for every meal and maybe they're right. It seemed like a good idea at the time since I have a bellydancing show in 2 weeks, but maybe that's the fault of the bellydancing planners... why the hell would anyone schedule anything that showcases the belly after Thanksgiving? Really?

So. The rundown:

*Great family time... and I'm going to miss these effers even though I might want to kill them right now.
*I accepted that some of my values will always be different than my family and I am always going to live up to the role of "The Sensitive One" no matter how much I try (maybe because of how much I try...)
*Steve will always be right: "You will never be what your parents expect you to be"
*I will always cut myself if I'm talking on the phone and wielding a sharp knife (esp when cutting difficult things like raw sweet potatoes)

And now I'm going to return to putting pressure on my thumb before I lose enough blood to pass out and scare my niece. I wonder if all that wine had something to do with my blood not clotting... probably not. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!