It’s the week after Thanksgiving, and everyone is still talking about the grand feast they devoured, their family gathering, and traveling to and from their holiday destination. It was different at our house. Walter and I had no company this year, no gathering to go to, and less than a grand feast for the big day.

The day before Thanksgiving, I decided we had to rake and blow the mounds of leaves in our front yard to the curb. With two enormous sweetgum trees in front of the house, we’ve avoided this tedious job until most of the leaves fell along with millions of spiky sweetgum balls. Since the town sends a truck around to suck up leaves piled by the curb, I knew we needed to get busy. We worked in the yard all afternoon until dark. We were proud of our accomplishment, but we were exhausted. After dinner, we fell asleep in front of the television.

On Thanksgiving morning, we ached all over, and we were glad we didn’t have to go anywhere or entertain company for the holiday. It felt good to stay home, watch the parade and dog show on TV, and text our friends and relatives to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving.

Walter had planned a four o’clock feast of roast turkey breast, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, biscuits, and cherry pie for dessert. After the morning had slipped away, we decided to watch a movie and relax in our den. The hours flew by, and at four o’clock, we weren’t really hungry after having a late breakfast, so we watched more TV. About seven o’clock we wandered up to the kitchen, looked at the turkey breast that needed roasting and decided fixing a big dinner was too much work.

As two retired people, we find that procrastination suits our schedule more often than not. Walter is better at it than I am, but I’m learning. There was no one else to feed on Thanksgiving Day but us, so was it necessary to go to so much trouble? No—we agreed on that.

Our Thanksgiving dinner consisted of turkey pot pies, jellied cranberry sauce, and a store-bought cherry pie. It was actually delicious with minimum preparation. We were happy, and that’s what mattered. We were thankful for a wonderful holiday together.

We eventually roasted our turkey and had our own grand feast on Sunday, only three days late.

Now it’s time to get ready for Christmas—shopping, wrapping, mailing packages, decorating the house, and singing Christmas carols at holiday events. Are you ready? We’re not, but we probably shouldn’t wait until January to decorate the tree.

Boxes in the Attic
by Dee Bowlin

It’s that time of year again 
to climb up in the attic 
and dust off lots of boxes 
packed full of Christmas magic.  
The boxes are all labeled,
yet it’s still a fun surprise 
discovering the treasures 
neatly packed away inside: 
a Christmas wreath with pine cones, 
velvet ribbons tied in bows, 
and strings of colored lights,  
always tangled, heaven knows,  
pine garland for the mantle 
to be draped so perfectly, 
soft teddy bears with sweaters
await the festivities,
the hand-painted music box
with a Santa Clause that spins
can sit next to the snow globe 
as this holiday begins.
The Christmas tree is ready
to be decorated now
with twinkling lights and tinsel,
shiny balls on every bough,
an Angel for the treetop
to watch over all of us—
she’ll help us remember
the true meaning of Christmas.