Every year for Thanksgiving my family does 2 things. We go to one
side of the family on Thanksgiving, and we go to the other side that
weekend. This has been the tradition for as long as I can remember.
However this year since I am studying abroad I will be without either
side of my family on either day. In fact right now it is 9:30 am and I
am in a hostel in Dublin, eating breakfast and getting ready to go on a
tour of the city!
Besides the traditional food that every family has each year, there is
one thing I enjoy about Thanksgiving that I don't think is unique or
special, but rather just something that I look forward to every year;
after eating lunch we all sit and watch the Detriot Lions get killed by
whoever it is that they are playing that year!
But before I talk about that, here is the background history for those of you who might not know what Thanksgiving is about; Thanksgiving is a holiday that is charished in America every year. In fact I would go out on a limb to say that besides the fact that Americans spend a lot of money for presents, in some households Thanksgiving is bigger than Christmas. However, just to make sure that everyone truly knows what Thanksgiving is about, I pulled this off of the History.com website for you all to have the "official" storyline of Thanksgiving.
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| This is how I envision it. |
"In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn
harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first
Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries,
days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states.
It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President
Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each
November."
Before pulling that up I actually had no idea that President Lincoln proclaimed it for a specific day in 1863 (learn something new everyday!).
I would also say that Thanksgiving is about food and watching the Detroit Lions get murdered!!
This is Detroits record since 2000; an abominable 2-9.
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| This is what it always looks like. |
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2000 Detroit 34, New England 9 - W
2001 Green Bay 29, Detroit 27 - L
2002 New England 20, Detroit 12 - L
2003 Detroit 22, Green Bay 14 - W
2004 Indianapolis 41, Detroit 9 - L (bad)
2005 Atlanta 27, Detroit 7 - L
2006 Miami 27, Detroit 10 - L
2007 Green Bay 37, Detroit 26 - L
2008 Tennessee 47, Detroit 10 - L
2009 Green Bay 34, Detroit 12 - L
2010 New England 45, Detroit 24- L
On a more serious note, Thanksgiving always gives me a chance to reflect on the things that I am actually thankful for. Every year while we are sitting around with family eating we spend some time to go around and talk about the things that we are thankful for. This year not being home for Thanksgiving has made me recognize how thankful I am to have a family that truly cares about me.
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| This is my family after my sister's graduation! |
This year I am going to simply say that I am thankful for one thing, my family, because I feel that every year I under-appreciate my family because I am surrounded by them every day. I have amazing parents, and awesome sisters, and so this year I say "mom, dad, Kortney, and Kelsey, I am thankful for you all!"
So today tell the people you love that you love them, and of course don't forget to watch the Detroit Lions get murdered by Green Bay, because that is exactly what 20+ Americans in Dublin, Ireland are doing! Except we will be drinking Guiness and not Bud Light! (Dad go get a Guiness and drink up at first kick-off of the lions game!!)
