I have had a wonderful time at so many Thanksgivings

 I think my favorite comes in two parts. First the smells of good food cooking, then the anticipation of seeing my family pour in, arms laden with even more food, and faces smiling happily to be together. No one, not even my grumpy old daddy had a frown on that day. We had a house full of kids, in-laws, grandparents and grandchildren, and even in that small, two-bedroom, one bath home, we had plenty of room and love and laughter. Being an old southern girl, I have no love of football, and miss most of the parades and will never go out in the Black Friday rush.

I have had a wonderful time at so many Thanksgivings! Always shared with my children, their friends, and more recently their in-laws and friends of the in-laws.

I had a poignant Thanksgiving in England, some 20 years ago, when it was just our little nuclear family; and during preparation, it was hard to find the ingredients for traditional dishes. But I am glad that we observed the holiday.

Sharing a meal is one of the most fundamental social interactions. And the Thanksgiving menu is so delicious, and meant for sharing!

The key is celebrating with people you like. Maybe I'm blessed in that I don't live close to any "difficult" relatives.

I was teaching at my old high school. One of my former teachers and I became good friends. Each morning we 'd have coffee before the students arrived. He and his wife don't have any children and they 'd pretty much adopted me.

As Thanksgiving quickly approached they asked about my plans and extended an invite to their house for drinks and a well cooked meal. Being single at the time I could hardly turn down a meal I didn't have to cook. Not to mention it didn't come in a box either! I arrived at noon for a turkey dinner. A feast was laid out. There was enough food to feed ten people and we were only three adults!

We feasted and retreated to the den to watch the Lions lose to the Packers. We enjoyed numerous drinks throughout the evening and had hot apple pie ala mode.

I left sometime after midnight well fed and bags of food to eat at home. Great Thanksgiving that day.

My family and I usually get together with them several times a year. They're like another set of grandparents for our daughter.

I left a man that I had briefly lived with romantically. I left a major city with my daughter who was about 8 and 35 cents in my pocket. We only had the clothes on our backs as I had to leave EVERYTHING behind. We were on a bus to a major city days away to move in with a person I had met online and only spent one week with in person. This was in the AOL days and is the biggest risk I ever took in my life. I arrived in my new home the day before Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving I met my "friend's" (she became my wife for 17 years) family. She is from a large family. She had never had a female lover before. They could have seen me as a danger and I am sure it was all very overwhelming and confusing for them but they accepted me with open arms (although I knew they didn't accept my lifestyle) and helped me get clothes and things to restart my life. They became my family and it was definitely a blessing.