“Thanksgiving
EVE?? There is no Thanksgiving Eve. And Thanksgiving isn’t
much of a party holiday anyway.”
When
are you people going to learn that sometimes “normal” does not equal “right”?
So what if most people don’t have a party the night before Thanksgiving?
That gives me better odds at getting people to show up at my place.
And when you think about it, it’s the perfect night to get drunk.
Can you think of any better condition to be in for mass consumption of
comfort foods (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry fluff…)
than when you’re hung over or maybe just a little drunk still? I
think it’s perfect. It makes excellent sense to me.
Today’s
lesson, however, is not the virtue of a Thanksgiving Eve party. It’s
about finding a path that appeals to you and walking down it. Some
of us may not have paved, well-traveled highways as our paths. We
may have to turn sideways to walk between two trees, get mud and leaves
stuck to our shoes, sap in our hair, and a million mosquito bites, just
so we can get to that one spot on that cliff with the most excellent view
of the world below. If you’re content with Christmas parties and
dressing in costume only on Halloween, then go for it. If you feel
like going to Wal-Mart dressed as a chipmunk, more power to you.
I’m still
not sure whether to be offended or proud that my mother describes me as
a “nonconformist.” I mean, it’s not like the thought had never occurred
to me before our little chat a few weeks ago, but there’s just something
about hearing it from a parent. I think they might be a bit worried
that I took their advice too seriously. As long as I can remember,
I was encouraged to make choices that worked for me and to choose a life
I was happy with. I just don’t think they expected me to realize
how many choices I truly had.
They
handed me a multiple-choice guide to life, with situations I might encounter
and four equally suitable responses, with their encouragement to make any
choice I wanted. I threw away the “answers” long ago.
