I grew up with traditional Thanksgivings (turkey, lots of family) and have been a guest or hosted a couple as a grownup, but the Thanksgivings that stand out in my memory are the not-so-traditional ones. 

When I was 23 I opted to visit  friends rather than go home for my family's celebration.  I caught a ride from St Paul to Kansas City with other friends  who were going in that direction to see parents, and stayed with my recently-married college friends who had an apartment on the Country Club Plaza. I remember the pleasure of re-connecting with them and being in the throng of people Thanksgiving night when the switch was flicked and the brilliant Plaza lights blazed. Later we went to a bar in Westport and I wore a short skirt. One of the bartenders offered me a deal -- I could have free drinks as long as I came up to the bar to get them. That wouldn't happen these days, and not just because I no longer wear short skirts.  

The first Thanksgiving after separating from my ex-husband  was our oldest daughter'  freshman year in college.  Thanksgiving break was the first time she came home and our first holiday with separate  households.  Her dad and I both wanted to spend time with her, but I couldn't will myself to be a big enough person to cook dinner for him  and I didn't want him as a guest in my house.  (He had only moved out in August after a court order forced him.)  So I came up with Plan B, and got the four of us tickets to a dinner theater on Thanksgiving Day.  We had our turkey dinner and saw a performance of "West Side Story" and it was civil and even enjoyable. 

About three years ago the girls went with their dad to his parents and I was on my own and in a conversation with an 82-yr-old woman I was visiting as part of my job, she said she and her friend were going to a restaurant.  She invited me to join them. I did, and later in the day had dessert with neighbors. Being on my own was okay.

 Since moving to Minnesota 32 years ago, being with my family for the holiday often involves driving to rural Nebraska or Chicago, and Thanksgiving storms have made some of those trips harrowing.  A couple times we've had to stop along the way and find somewhere to stay  because the interstates were closing.  In my college days my cousin and I had driven 400 miles or so in his Impala and were "only" 50 miles or so from our hometown when we ended up stuck in a snowdrift on Hwy 20, where we  sat all night.  We had enough gas to keep the engine running and stay warm, but I don't think I slept.  When morning came the snow had stopped we shoveled the drifts that reached the car windows and with help from a local farmer and his tractor, got un-stuck and were on our way. The farmer's wife gave us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for our Thanksgiving day breakfast. That was before the days of cell phones, so our parents had some nervous moments waiting.  Yesterday  my youngest daughter left during a storm to go with  her boyfriend to his  hometown several hours away on the South Dakota border,  and I was the parent wondering, "Will they make it okay?" Karma can be a bitch.

One year when the girls were small we were attempting to drive to Chicago to spend the holiday weekend with my sister's family but due to a blizzard the Interstate  in Wisconsin was closed. We were lucky to get the last motel room in Black River Falls late on Wednesday.  We arrived in Chicago mid-day Thursday, and instead of trying to put together a late dinner, my sister's family and mine took the El downtown where we were able to look in the Macy's windows without crowds, were entertained by buskers, and had lunch at a Greek restaurant.  The next day we had our turkey dinner while the crowds were downtown.  Playinhg cards is popular in my family, and after the grown-ups played pitch we started playing spoons so the kids could join in.  According to our rules the person who was last to grab a spoon got a letter, and the first person to get T-U-R-K-E-Y had to go under the table and gobble.  I got a turn at being the turkey, but was laughing too hard to be a good gobbler. 

With my youngest at her boyfriend's family's house and my other daughter teaching in Korea, I'm solo again this year.  My youngest sister has invited me over,  and  it doesn't involve a long trip because I manged to lure my two youngest siblings to Minnesota for college and they stayed.  Now I get to spend time with them and their families without having to drive across a couple states.  My youngest sister has two girls, and her nine year-old wants the traditional turkey but the six year-old requested fried chicken, so I'm told we're having both.  Since my brother-in-law the respiratory therapist has to work,  it will be just us girls. I'm anticipating a lovely day, and hope it is for everyone at OS.