No Turkey but Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving. It is my first Thanksgiving outside of the United States. Normally I cook the turkey, having seasoned it the night before with salt, pepper, old bay, and injecting mojo (a mixture of garlic, lime, orange, onion, and other flavors). Thanksgiving mornings for me have been preparing stuffing, sausage and apples with sage bread crumbs. Then comes the preheating of the oven, stuffing the bird, covering it with bacon for basting and getting the gobbler in the oven. All of this is done by 7:30 in the morning.

The process continues, throughout the morning, by making apple and pumpkin pies. Corn is shucked. A salad is made.Sweet potatoes are cut and wrapped in tin foil. Then I bake them in the oven to a soft sweet side dish steaming with aroma as I add butter and cinnamon.Green bean casserole is prepared. Rolls are baked. White potatoes boiled and then mashed. As the cooking ends gravy is made and the cranberry sauce, canned, is plated. All this is done with the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade on the television, waiting in anticipation of Santa Claus to appear followed by NFL football previews and the games of the day.

Thanksgiving dinner is really a supper: served at 2:00 in the afternoon in my house. As a family we never get "dressed." It is a casual event, jeans and T's. As the table is set the children are seen picking and tasting what is about to be served. Just before we eat each one of us says what we are thankful for. Then we dive in to the food, passing plates, and gorge ourselves.

This Thanksgiving I am in Peru. No Turkey. No cooking. No Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. No football on the television. No sweet smell of home cooking as the meal is prepared. No beer nor wine. No closed stores. No empty streets. Yes thankful.

I am thankful for my family's support. My mother, brothers, children, granddaughter, and friends, in the US. All have been supportive of the change I made moving to South America. Many of which have made it possible for me to embark on this adventure as an expatriate.They have at this time given more than I have been able to give back.

I am thankful for my new family here that has adopted me and made me feel welcome. My bride-to-be, her daughter, mother, brothers, cousins, nieces, and nephews have made me feel like a member of the family. I am thankful for the friends here that have accepted me: Peruvians ands expatriates.

Thanksgiving as a holiday is not about the turkey and the pies, the sweet or mashed potatoes, or the cranberries and the gravy. It is about a sense of awe and appreciation for all that we have and what we have shared together.

Today I am thankful and I share my thanks with you. Happy Thanksgiving wherever you may be today. Happy Thanksgiving.