Ah, Thanksgiving. The thought of delicious aromas emanating from the kitchen: turkey, stuffing, a lot of vegetable dishes and a vast variety of pies. Sitting with family at the dining room table and then retreating to the living room to watch football non-stop until the tryptophan coma calls and we drift off to nap — until the next round of feeding frenzy hits. 

While our version of Thanksgiving is markedly different than when the Pilgrims and Wampanoags in Plymouth sat down back in 1620, it is still steeped in tradition. (Maybe if Massasoit knew what was to befall his people, he’d have thought twice about helping the Pilgrims out…and in certain accounts of history, he did. But that is a story for another time.)

What do we have to be thankful for? That is a question we always ask each other around the table every year. The answers to this question are pretty much the same every year, something which may be a bit boring, but there isn’t anything wrong with that as long as these answers come from the heart. 

Of course, if you have a relative or in-law like Cousin Eddie from the Vacation films (doesn’t everyone have one…or more of them?), then the answers to what you’re thankful for can get downright hilarious. So, think of your own answers and I’ll share mine below. 

Having spent many years in the military, there were plenty of years that I was deployed. But I have to say, other than missing family and the requisite football games that went along with it, the Army or the government — when deployed near an embassy — always made everyone’s Thanksgiving as good as it could get. Yet the more they tried to make it as nice as possible, the more we missed home just a little bit more. But there were some great families assigned to our embassies across the globe who always opened their doors to us and made us welcome. You are not forgotten. And thank you. 

Actually the worst Thanksgiving I ever spent in uniform was in the United States. Some genius at SWC decided to run a SERE course that would run through Thanksgiving. And I was in it …of course.

We started our E&E (Escape and Evasion) on Thanksgiving night of all nights. It was cold, around 38-39 degrees, with a soaking, drenching rain falling. A Corporal from the Ranger Regiment (who would later become an SF Field Grade Officer) was standing beside me and summed it up best: “I should be home fat on turkey watching football and getting a hummer from my girlfriend right now.”  Amen brother. 

As I got older and had a family of my own, the entire Thanksgiving dinner thing wasn’t as important as making sure we spent it together.