I know Thanksgiving has some deeper meanings, but at one level it’s all about the food. Food is a good way to celebrate family, having foods that you all enjoy and evoke good memories. However, cooking all that food isn’t always simple and is often stressful. Some years we’ve opted to buy the turkey and a few things already cooked from our local Publix (which does a great job), this year my wife is planning to cook it all. That can lead to a certain amount of kitchen chaos, and of course the chance that something will go wrong.

Nothing like cooking a big meal, having family visiting, and then having something go wrong. My answer? Let it go! There will be plenty of food and often the things that go wrong become part of family lore, things to laugh about – after the event!

There is nothing wrong with the staples of Thanksgiving. For us, it’s turkey and ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green been casserole, some good rolls, yams, gravy, pumpkin pie, and of course cranberry sauce. We tried a standing rib roast one year, was good, just didn’t seem right:-) My wife tends to do the cooking and I do the baking, so I’m going to try to add a new tradition to our existing one, baking something new – which means it may or may not turn out right. Haven’t decided yet on what – maybe yeast rolls, maybe a cake, but either way, something the kids and I can do together, trying to teach them that it’s ok to experiment, ok to fail, and to value the effort of cooking as much as the fun of eating.

Finally, it’s easy to forget that while I can just go purchase that stuff, not everyone can this year. Whether you invite the neighbors over, drop a box of food at the food bank, or just donate cash to a good local charity (Orlando Rescue Mission for me), don’t forget to give back. Even if it’s $5 worth of stuff, it will help make the world a better place for a family on a family day. Won’t fix the world, but that shouldn’t stop us from doing what we can either.

Tomorrow I’ve got a book review that might give you something fun to do on a holiday weekend. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I’ll see you next week.