Our Quiet, Non-Traditional Thanksgiving

Our family had one of the quietest and most boring Thanksgiving holidays ever.  I'm not complaining though.  It actually turned out nicely. 

It was just the three of us - Kirk, Vivian and me.  We had visitors (Kirk's father and stepmother) scheduled to come but they canceled on us a few days prior due to schoolwork and other personal happenings.  No big deal since I hadn't cleaned my house yet and we were ordering out our turkey meal anyway.  By the time our guests canceled their "reservations" at Casa de Fernandez, it was really too late for us to make other plans.  Our moms, siblings and other relatives all had commitments and our friends were elsewhere. 

So we just spent a quiet day at home.  I cooked a beef and vegetable chili in my slow cooker for several hours.  We skipped the turkey, stuffing and pies altogether.  The chili was our Thanksgiving meal.  We didn't watch football or the Macy's Day parade.  Instead, we rented six movies - three kid-friendly films and three adult comedies.  Our family and dog took a walk around the neigborhood in shorts.  Why not? It was 80 degrees here in Florida, after all.  (Maybe we should have gone to the beach?)

Kirk spotted a few online bargains.  He purchased a new TV for our living room, a great big one - something he's been wanting for several years but always talked himself out of it until now.  I also picked out a breadmaker and a new hand mixer.  Not too exciting, I know, but my kitchen appliances are all ten years old so I'm slowly replacing them. 

We were mostly lazy and did lots of lounging around.  However, that was one of my favorite parts about the day.  At one moment, all three of us were lying on the couch while watching the family film Over the Hedge.  Vivian was lying on my chest and I was lying against Kirk.  We were all embracing each other - a rare occurrence.  It was a beautiful moment, one where I actually stopped and said to myself:  Thank you for my wonderful family and for this love in my life! 

So even though we were not with our parents, siblings or extended family members....even though we didn't have turkey, ham, cranberry sauce and all the fixin's for dinner....even though we were miles away from anyone we are close with..... we still had each other.  My little family of three is all I need to give me joyous moments.  I'm so thankful for Kirk and Vivian.  And that is what Thanksgiving is all about (for me, at least).