Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the message of celebrating gratitude with your loved ones, and of course...
THE FOOD!
My parents and my oldest friends live in Virginia, so I decided to visit them. The last time I went to VA was when I was furloughed in March.
With all of the new COVID precautions, I figured this would be the time to go before anything got too crazy. Time with my family is always a risk I'm willing to take (cautiously, of course). Apparently, Thanksgiving Eve was the biggest travel day of the year and both of my flights were packed. No wonder U.S. cases keep rising.
My friends knew I was coming, but I wanted to SURPRISE my parents... which first backfired. I told them I was having flowers delivered, but they didn't care, because when I arrived, THEY WEREN'T HOME.
* whomp whomp *
They were having a thanksgiving dinner at a hotel and wouldn't be home until the following day.
I booked a nearby hotel as I didn't want to crash with friends, having traveled. It was after 10pm when I arrived, so all restaurants were closed.
Thankfully the hotel had a snack bar so...
I had a delicious TV dinner and pita chips as my "welcome home" meal. No more surprise visits ever!
The next day, I told my parents the flowers were being redelivered to their apartment, and the surprise was a success! My mama was very happy I was home, although she was worried that I traveled, especially having asthma.
I social distanced with my parents, mask on when we were close, keeping the balcony door open when we chilled in the living room.
I never realized how many kisses and hugs I smother my mama with until I couldn't without a mask.
So let's get into this food! If I photographed it all, this blog would be pages long. My mama had a $200 gift card from Honey Baked Ham.
We had two turkeys, a ham and enough sides for a small village. My friend's family is Hawaiian, so we had mac salad, soy chicken and a few other island favorites.
There was beef wellington, cajun shrimp fettuccine and roast beast (catch the grinch reference).
The only inedible thing was a gingerbread house made by my friend Joanna and I ( beautiful, I know).
I was able to see a friend each day and there was a meal with each visit.
That's not a phrase everyone is blessed enough to say.
As an only child, I consider my friends my family, so it's wonderful to see them, but equally hard to leave.
One of the hardest parts of following your journey, is physically being away from those you love. Visit when you can, but tell your people you love them every chance you get.
Catch me next week. 🥰