The 5 Rules of Thanksgiving Dinner; Jackass Whispering
"Don't try to win over the haters; you are not a jackass whisperer."
Monday morning, coffee in hand, I got to bed early, I rested well, it’s now time to engage the day. I am just returning from the mountain time zone, so my body and mind think it’s 5:00 a.m., but the clock on my wrist shows 7:00, it’s the only day I allow myself to sleep in, tomorrow I’ll dial it back 5:00 a.m. eastern, 3:00 a.m. mountain.
We had a great weekend, just my Queen and me, hanging out on top of a mountain, relaxing, enjoying each other, watching our family of deer roam our property looking for bits and bytes of whatever they can find. We had nine show up at one time; I was told our home is on the deer highway; we should not be surprised to get multiple visitors throughout the day.
Well, Happy Thanksgiving, we’ve got three days to power through before spending time with our family and friends, eating, drinking, laughing, and in some cases, avoiding. I think every family has that one or two people that you need to limit engagement to experience a more pleasant day. As you read these words those folks are popping in your mind. Beware of the family jackass.
We can’t pick our families; it’s a random collection of personalities, some conservative, some liberal, some woke, some not so woke. The key to a great thanksgiving is balancing a tolerance of jackasses and enjoyment of those you truly connect.
A few rules to follow if you want to have some fireworks this year. Rule one, repeat the word Trump, no matter your group, you’ll have some folks fist-pumping and others groaning. I can’t remember a name that elicits such strong feelings one way or another in my lifetime, don’t support or hate, say Trump, and let the action commence.
Rule two, abortion is a good topic for family discussions. Whether you support a woman’s right to choose or you think that baby killing is wrong, it’s a hot topic sure to get the family conversing about something that will fuel multiple emotional exchanges.
Rule three, religion is always a great conversation starter. No matter your faith telling another human how he or she should live according to your interpretation of the interpretation of the interpretation of others is a sure-fire way to bring your family together.
Rule four, drink a lot, not milk or water, but hard-core booze, make sure you don’t just eat, but get hammered. Shots are great during thanksgiving dinner, make sure you let the kids sneak a few drinks to add to the excitement of the day.
And finally, rule 5, don’t follow any of the above rules. Keep your politics, religion, thoughts about abortion to yourself. Don’t drink and if you do, keep yourself in check, don’t be that one person that allows a “do you remember when Steve passed out after dinner in 2019?” Trust me, don’t’ be a Steve, a little social lubricant can go a long way on Thanksgiving.
Well, time for me to engage. Time for me to get to work and connect with some strangers, friends, clients, and my team. I have a list of things I need to wrap up in the next three days, and I’m looking forward to heading into the holiday with some notches under my belt, wrapping up some long projects, putting a bow on them so I can move on to other things.
Thanksgiving is an important time to put aside your differences, connect with your family, and to remember there is no love like the love that allows you to share your name. During this time of chaos, we need to have one day of love, joy, and happiness. As the world seemingly is ready to explode, it might be nice to have a nice civil conversation about things that are not contentious.
Work hard, wrap up your week, it’s a short one, but if you stay focused, you can enter the holiday with a sense of accomplishment and thankfulness of your life and ability to do solid, effective work. Thank you for visiting my free internet soup kitchen, I made some turkey soup for the occasion, I hope you like it, I added some spice to get you thinking about what not to do and maybe a thing or two to keep your holiday calm, cool, and collected.
"Don't try to win over the haters; you are not a jackass whisperer."