Happy November, everyone! While the 11th month of the year can be cold and gloomy and filled with wet socks and many pages of reading, fret not, friends: Thanksgiving is just two weeks away.
Between stress and the focus on gift-giving holidays, sometimes Thanksgiving gets short changed. Sure, I’ll be the first to admit there’s plenty to complain about during November. But still, don’t forget about the fun and food and whatnot that rolls around come the fourth Thursday of the month.
So, with the holiday on the horizon, I’m going to share a few things I’m looking forward to come turkey-day weekend.
First and foremost, I’m excited to eat my weight in turkey, then eat my new weight in stuffing, mashed potatoes and side dishes, then devour an entire pie’s worth of pumpkin, apple and pecan pies.
In between platefuls, I’ll socialize with my family. Yeah, I’ll probably have to spend a decent amount of time reassuring my relatives about my future, but I think it’ll be OK. Sample conversation:
Grandma: “Rachel, how’s college? What do you plan on doing when you graduate?”
Me: “Well, I actually, *nom nom nom* have been looking at internships and *nom nom* and I *slurp* —you know these three pies I’ve sampled are so tasty. Would anyone like a slice? I’ll go get them. What’s that? You’ll shift the topic of conversation to ways to organize your sock drawer/anything else while I’m gone? Please! Go ahead!”
Following the feast, I will go to bed and sleep the happiest sleep I’ve ever slept.
Speaking of which, what else am I looking forward to come Thanksgiving weekend? Plenty of snooze time.
A bunch of scientific studies probably say you can’t make up for lost sleep. I don’t doubt these studies. But that doesn’t mean a girl can’t treat herself to all the z’s she’s missed out on when she gets the chance to do so. To take full advantage of this opportunity, I plan on pregaming the Thanksgiving snooze by starting strong with a nap as soon as I get home Tuesday afternoon.
When I awake from Thursday’s 15ish-hour slumber, it’ll be time for fun with friends. Generally, our Friday begins with a midday trip to Caribou Coffee. After spending a few hours venting out all the gripes we’ve built up over the semester, we’ll saddle up for the stores.
Usually, we partake in watered-down Black Friday shopping wherein we roll up to Target around 3 p.m. after things have mellowed out a bit. But our late arrival is neither a sign of indifference nor willpower to resist sales. Without fail, I will seize the opportunity to buy the discount doughnut-hole maker and the four $5 tank tops I “really need” for winter.
The next two days will be filled with chill activities. Maybe I’ll watch “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” with my dad. I might bake pumpkin muffins with my mom.
Come Sunday afternoon, it’ll be time to head back to Madison. Do I have a few projects and exams coming up a few days after Thanksgiving weekend? Of course. Will I be disastrously busy? Absolutely. But for now, I’m just going to look forward to family, food and friends. And when the post-Thanksgiving poo hits the fan, well, maybe I’ll weep a little. But I’ll have myself an eggnog latte and reassure myself with the fact that winter break will be juuussst around the corner. …Right?
Want to make doughnut holes with Rachel after Thanksgiving break? Email rmschulze@dailycardinal.com.
