What a Difference a Year Makes

Mark has only been living here since January, but it feels like we have been living together for forever--in a good way, of course! In fact, when Mark and I were talking this morning about our Thanksgiving plans, I asked him if he remembered whether we had reserved our turkey from Whole Foods the Saturday before Thanksgiving or the week before that. I forgot that he couldn't have gone to the store with me the week before Thanksgiving--he was in Dallas! That got me thinking about how different things are this year.

Last year's turkey before going into
the fridge to brine overnight

Unlike last year, we are going out for Thanksgiving. We'll still make mashed potatoes, a turkey roulade, and some other sides at home for munching on throughout the week, but we won't be making them all on the same day to put together one big meal. This year there will be no brining, no oven schedules to plan, and no big pile of dishes for us to do on Thursday night Friday morning. Since it is just the two of us this year, we decided we'd do the lazy thing and make reservations somewhere with a decent Thanksgiving menu.

Okay, so it is mostly a plate of white, but I
swear we had salad throughout the day

I feel like I'm cheating, though. We had a lot of fun last year making everything and collapsing in bed at the end of the night after being on our feet cooking all day, drinking our way through *ahem* holiday portions of wine, and dancing to Christmas music while the cat looked at us with disdain (if you have a cat, you are probably familiar with this look). We didn't spend any time worrying about wedding planning, the fact that Mark was only going to be in Chicago for a week, the tight budgets we were on so that we would have as much in savings as possible when Mark moved up to Chicago, the paper deadlines that were approaching all too quickly, and Mark's job prospects in a city with an unemployment rate that was consistently higher than the US average. You can imagine just how perfect the day was for us. After a few months of constant worry, we spent an entire day completely free from it. Will it still feel the same if we go for a run, go out to a restaurant, and then come home and just bake a pie? Where's the magic in that?

Mark has definitely gotten a haircut since last
year--look at all of those curls!

Last year, Thanksgiving was an important reminder that we choose how we think about our lives. We had (and still have, thankfully) each other, our health, loving families, food, shelter, clothing, dear friends, and a lot to look forward to in life. The really big change this year is not that we won't be cooking at home all day. I think it is actually that we have spent the last year deciding to orient ourselves toward appreciation instead of worry. Thursday will be a day when we can relax and give more time to being grateful than the hustle and bustle of a normal day usually allows. 

The turkey was really good, but it doesn't look like
the perfectly browned birds on the Food Network

While we are both a little bummed that we won't be seeing our families on Thanksgiving, it is nice to have a holiday to ourselves. We will have time to reflect on all we have to be thankful for without the craziness that would be involved in a whirlwind trip to Texas. Again: it is all about how you look at it.

As a final note, Mark has changed a lot over the past year. He is much healthier. I am so proud of him--he has worked hard to get and stay healthy.

See these pants? He can't wear them any more
because they fall off of him.

This picture was taken just a few weeks ago.
Excuse the wrinkles, I've been using a
"travel-sized" (read: mini and not very hot)
iron since college and only just got a legit one
a few days ago. Yet another thing for which we
are very thankful: an iron that removes wrinkles.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!