There’s no way around it: the holidays can be tough right now. Due to the economic crisis, some far-flung families can’t afford to get together. Others can’t swing the traditional feast, and they’re dialing it back.
Other families have lost people over politics or another cause, and there are heartbreakingly empty seats at the dinner table. Still others simply have nobody to share the day with for any of a number of reasons.
In 2022, we started a new tradition with our first online OP Friendsgiving. This community is like a family, complete with grouchy uncles and a few members who make us shake our heads with their political beliefs.
But truly, we have such a lovely community of people here from so many different backgrounds. The conversations are enlightening and ever-interesting. Let’s “get together” here!
I realize this isn’t a substitute for truly being with the people you love, but I hope it helps the day go by a little more easily, just knowing that someone out here cares about you. We’ll be keeping this post front and center on Thanksgiving Day.
I’m going to post a bit about our Thanksgiving to get things started, and the things I’m grateful for this year.
Please take a moment in the comments to do the same if you feel so moved and let other commenters know that they’re not alone.
Our Thanksgiving menu
It’s just my daughter and me today, because we did a bigger celebration earlier in the month when my mother and stepfather were here. So we’re not going insane in the kitchen today.
We’re having:
- Roasted chicken
- Mashed potatoes
- Garlic green beans
- Cornbread stuffing with sage and dried, sweetened cranberries
- Gravy
- Pumpkin cheesecake
It’ll still be delicious and will leave us with some tasty leftovers.
Aden contributed a Thanksgiving poem for preppers.
Aden wrote the most beautiful poem that I have to share with you. As a prepper, it will really hit home. It’s called Comparison, The Thief of Joy. He’s so creative and I enjoy sharing this every year.
What I’m grateful for this year
This year, I’ve had to accept that my disability isn’t going away, so I’ve begun building a life that makes it a bit easier to deal with.
I’m incredibly grateful for my family. My girls and I have such a beautiful relationship, and it’s a priceless treasure. The fact that they are adults (25 and 30) and they still want to talk to their mom nearly every day just brings a glow to my heart every time I hear the phone ring. This year, my youngest invited me to live with her while I’m trying to find some normalcy, and I am so happy to get this extra time to spend with her. I love you, girlies – you make me the luckiest mom ever.
My bestie is wonderful. I’m an introvert. I have very few friends. But my best friend…holy cow. She is so supportive and always there to lend an ear or a shoulder. She is driven, goal-oriented, and has a passion for music that will make her a name on everyone’s lips one day in the not-so-distant future. She sings, she plays instruments, she writes songs. I feel so lucky to be able to hear her originals before they’re released to the world and to know the backstories behind them. Beyond all that, she is kind, loyal, and fierce. I love you, bestie, and would hate to do life without you.
I have the most amazing readers in the Bloggerdom. My work is such a privilege. I know everybody says this, but I really never expected to be a blogger with lots of readers. The fact that I’ve gotten to know such a wonderful, supportive, and caring community through the work that I do is a gift that constantly amazes me. I’m going into my 13th year of blogging on The OP and I feel endless gratitude that you all help me do what I love every single day. I always wanted to write, and your visits to my website make that possible. How could I get any luckier than this? You guys mean the world to me.
What about you?
What’s a dish that you make every Thanksgiving without fail? Would you share the recipe with us in the comments? Is there a story behind the recipe? If so, please tell us!
What are you grateful for this year? What makes your heart sing? Let’s talk about it.
And if you are struggling, tell us. Hopefully, a burden shared is a lighter burden.
That being said, we here at the OP love our readers, and we’re so glad that we can provide information and entertainment to you.
Happy Friendsgiving, from my family to yours.
17 Responses
This is kind of you. Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving Daisy and family. It’s just my daughter and I as well. I opted to skip the crazy big family gathering this year. Still I made most of the trimmings. Only smaller. Turkey, dressing. Cranberries. Mashed potatoes, broccoli from the garden and a pie. ( I love leftovers) I’m thankful for family, friends and my first two grandchildren. I don’t think anymore will be coming along. God has been good to me. Have a great day!
It was a routine dog walk that ended with double fractured shin (bicondylar tibial plateau fracture) . 2 1/2 weeks in regular and rehab hospital, plus another 2 1/2 months in a wheelchair plus walker. All this time my neighbors selflessly helped out. Laundry, yard work, house cleaning and dog walking. They refused to take payment, and were always around. For this I am incredibly grateful.
Corsaire: you are truly blessed. Thanks for sharing your experience that restores faith and shows there is goodness in humanity.
I am grateful for you, Daisy, and all that you do for this wonderful community!
I am grateful for the small cabin I live in and the peace it brings me to be in nature every day. I am also especially grateful for my friendships that sustain me during difficult times and bring joy during good times.
Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
My kids are with their dad today, so I’ll have dinner with friends. I’m contributing a pumpkin pie, made from my homegrown pumpkins.
I’m grateful for my kids, my friends, my family. I’m grateful for my garden, producing with less-than-perfect attention from me. I’m grateful for all the stuff that could have gone wrong but hasn’t so far.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
As I sit here recovering from a mastectomy, I am so grateful that I have my life. Thank you, Daisy for doing this for us. I wish everybody a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving. Grateful for my home and my dogs and my health and so many other things. Family is a difficult area for me and the holidays especially makes it apparent. Peace matters over all when reconstructing self love. Trying to remember, self love ❤️
Again, happy Thanksgiving everyone
Prayers for your peace. ❤️
What’s wrong with calling it Thanksgiving? “Friendsgiving” sounds totalitarian and woke.
It’s not supposed to sound that way and we’re far from woke. This is something separate from our family gettogethers so I gave it a different name. This is our third year of OP Friendsgiving and most folks have really enjoyed it. I hope you’ll read it all in the spirit it was intended.
I hope you’ve had a wonderful day!
Gee, you’re really gonna hate ours….Campsgiving! We joined our daughter’s in-law family at a campground in SC. We had steak, baked potatoes, salad, deviled eggs, pumpkin bread, and pound cake. It was chilly, windy and wonderful. THANKSGIVING is what you make it.
I am so thankful for this group! My mom and sister are fellow readers here and we feel you are our friends whom we love. I am thankful for the good health and strength I have. My young adult children are all working, planning, and blessing the world around them. My younger two are growing up and learning by the example of their siblings. I have wonderful coworkers and customers. Work is a joy. My parents are healthy. I have lots to be grateful for.
My oldest daughter made the turkey. Lots of herbs and butter, and it was delicious! My oldest son made the pecan and pumpkin pies and mac and cheese. Middle daughter laid out a beautiful table and made roasted garlic mashed potatoes. Youngest daughter made green bean casserole. I made creamy corn with chilis, green onion and red bell peppers, cranberry sauce, Brussels sprouts, and dressing. I broke down this year and bought whipped cream in a can.
Thankfully there are leftovers.
Oldest son will be a great catch for some young lady–he did (most of) the dishes, too! He might use the potato water and make bread. If not, it will be soup in a couple days with the leftover turkey and anything else I find.
There are some challenges, too. I need to at least double my income, so that I can take the next step. Instead of saying “I need a better paying job,” I am looking for creative ways I can increase my income. Some days are okay, other days I feel so trapped and overwhelmed. Big changes ahead. Tough, but necessary.
God bless you all!
I’m grateful that I can move forward and keep going in spite of difficulties.
Survivors use critical thinking, common sense and intuition.
I’m so grateful for my family. My in-laws will celebrate their 71st anniversary in Dec 7.
I’m blessed to still have both of them.
God gave me the best step mom I could ever have.
We all have good health & full tummies.
We have a little extra to share as well.
We have good homes. Nothing fancy but a good roof over our heads.
We live in a good country & still have freedoms.
We have good friends as well.
What more can I ask for? I’m so blessed.
Even though we have lost 3 of our family members this year & a few hard medical diagnosis that almost cost us another 1 I can still say
God had been so good to us.
Our Thanksgiving started a week ago with a full on Thanksgiving feast at the county senior center. Tuesday brought a community dinner held at a Knights of Columbus facility because of space. About 400 ate a midafternoon meal. The local hospital donated the money to buy food. The rest home kitchen staff cooked, country sheriff’s deputies, high school teens, and more all provided plates, bottled water, and the chaplains for the area helped donate pies. It was a family feel with friends, families and strangers all visiting around the tables and take out meals were sent to home bound or sick folks.
Today my fiancé and I were invited to a family meal from his late wife’s family. It all felt like family. I’m not doing much right now. A torn rotator cuffs is flaring up and inciting arthritis to inflame. My fiancé bought a pumpkin and a pecan pie from Costco for us to take.
I’ve never seen this neighboring town of around 8,000 looking out for everyone like this year. Even the Junior College has been buying food to give away one morning each month.
Jobs are in short supply out here. Higher prices arrive anyway. Many families are seriously struggling. The mainstreet committee instead of just promoting local businesses is also helping job hunters and doing fun things for our young folks. The mainstreet business families baked cookies and invited everyone to visit the businesses and take a cookies at each business. Usually it is just done once a year. This Fall it’s been schedualed three times.
I’m getting older and that is a pain. Literally a pain. I’ve recently had cataracts removed from both eyes. My co-pay was $350 per eye. I didn’t have it. My fiancé paid it and drove me 100 mile to each exam and surgery. I’m greatful for the help and the family of friends this year. I’ve out lived blood family, lost one of my grown sons so when friends step in to be my family I’m overwhelmed with the love and kindness.
It’s been a really good day. My children are not close in miles, and travel for any of us was out of the question. So it has truely been a Friends Celebration.
A little late commenting, busy with the holiday and getting our critters set for the cold. We were still milking twice a day but now cutting down to once a day. Loved Aiden’s poem, we had a sad situation on Saturday, a 21 year old wrapped her car around a tree at the end of our road. It caught fire and she was killed. It was due to the ice on the road. It brings you back to reality in a hurry. Thanks for all you do for your readers!