A Different Kind of Pilgrim

Thanksgiving kind of feels lonely when you are not in America.

True, it’s sweaty here and there are no leaves falling off of trees.  In fact, I discovered yesterday that the reason my turkey baster is perpetually sticky is because the rubber is disintegrating in the humidity.  But we do always manage to track down a turkey….we can make mashed potatoes and stuffing and green bean casserole and even sweet potatoes with the marshmallows on top.  And last night Daddy and the kids cut up my yellow pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern and slept with it in their room…here’s hoping it will still make great pie!

But anyway.  There’s still something missing, and it’s not just the grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.  Because that’s big, of course.   It’s just….It kind of feels like, living here, we are just pretending.  In America everyone drops everything on the fourth Thursday in November…everyone has the same menu, the same parade on their television sets, the same cranberry sauce out of a can. 

But here, well, today is just a normal day.  Everyone goes on with life as normal; rush hour, work, school.  We go on a treasure hunt for Thanksgiving foods instead of having them prominently displayed in the grocery store.  And we do our best, we re-create all the memories….but you can’t keep the kids up too late…school tomorrow.  Or, in our case, we celebrate on Saturday.  It kind of feels forced. 

It’s funny; this is my 14th Thanksgiving outside of America, and these things never bothered me that much before.  Maybe it’s because now I have kids.  Maybe it’s because on the last 4th Thursday in November, we were gathered around our parents’ tables. 

Of course, I still am reflecting on the multitude of what I have to be thankful for, and I am most definitely looking forward to Saturday.  I am not looking to feel sorry for myself; I am not asking for sympathy.  I love my Savior, and I love this life He has given me. 

And now I need to go cook up that Jack-o-Lantern.