Giving thanks.

I absolutely love the holidays. Thanksgiving, in my opinion, is the perfect way to kick off the season. When I arrive home from school on the Wednesday before thanksgiving, I can thoroughly relax because I know I will be surrounded by my family during the weekend. We have two thanksgiving celebrations, because we go to dinner at my Aunts house and my Grandmothers. The first day, My Dad, Mom, Joe, and I go to my Aunts house and celebrate with my Dads side of the family. My Dad is the youngest of seven children, so we have a giant thanksgiving dinner when we get together with them. Being that he has four sisters, the gathering is at a different Aunts house every year, and sometimes it’s even at ours. I adore going to my other Aunts houses, because they live in North Buffalo and the surrounding areas, and I enjoy spending my time out there. It’s lovely spending the day in a warm, toasty, house that smells like delicious food; all while being surrounded by my numerous cousins that I can chat with for hours. My Dad and his siblings are almost one hundred percent polish, so we have perogies with our traditional turkey and such. Our festivities usually start around two in the afternoon, and we don’t ordinarily leave until eight or nine o’ clock at night. I also always make sure we come home with leftovers like mashed potatoes (because they are one of my favorite foods) and of course pie. That same weekend, we have a second thanksgiving dinner at my Grandmother’s house. It’s a much smaller house and a much smaller family, but just as enjoyable. To celebrate my Mom’s side of the family, we have thanksgiving with my Great Grandma and Grandmother, my Aunt, two Uncles, and cousins. Both of my Grandma’s are exceptional bakers, so I think that is the part of that meal that I look forward to the most. Both celebrations of Thanksgiving are a perfect way to spend the weekend and it really does make me thankful for all that I have!