On Plans, Traditions and How I Will Spend My Thanksgiving

“What are you doing for Thanksgiving?”

It’s a question I dread and a question that comes fast, furious and often this time of year. As everyone is gearing up for their own festivities, they inevitably want to know what I will be doing this coming Thursday. And my answer is never met without protestation.

“What are you doing for Thanksgiving, Dr. Sparky?”

“Nothing. I think I’ll just get the latest season of Scrubs on DVD and hang out on the couch.”

“On Thanksgiving? That’s so sad. You can come with me. My family would love to have you. It would break my mother’s heart to know you are alone on Thanksgiving.”

What everyone in my life fails to understand is that sitting on the couch watching television is exactly how I want to spend my Thanksgiving. My family lives across the country and making that trip is just not feasible. Spending the day with someone else’s family is never appealing. I’ve done it in the past and it is always awkward. I also dread the Thanksgiving gatherings that consist of all the people in a twenty-mile radius who have nowhere else to go. Often referred to as “Orphan Thanksgivings,” I avoid them at all costs.

The last time I was home for Thanksgiving was 1999. Since then I have spent nearly every Thanksgiving alone. Last year Thanksgiving and my birthday landed on the same day and I still spent the day alone. I often volunteer someplace. Sometimes I manage to cook a little Thanksgiving feast for one. But mostly I just end up enjoying a day away from work by being a big lazy bum.

And that is exactly how I like it. It’s become my own person Thanksgiving tradition. I’m well aware that most people think my tradition is sad and pathetic, but I kind of like it.

I just need to figure out how to convince the rest of the world that I really like it. Everyone I know is convinced I am merely putting on a brave face and that I spend the entire day crying in bed. But it’s just not true. I spend the entire day being thankful that I don’t have one stinking obligation to uphold. I just do whatever my little heart desires.

And that’s truly something to be grateful for.