When Thanksgiving Changes: Nostalgia, Lost Routines, and Finding New Meaning

I woke up this morning with a weird feeling. Not bad. Not great. Just off. Out of sorts. The kind of feeling where you know something is different, but it takes a minute to figure out what it is.

I used to have a routine on Thanksgiving morning. It was automatic. I would get up early, put on a hoodie, and head over to the convenience store to grab the two biggest newspapers in the area. Not for the news. For the Black Friday ads. That was the real prize. I would grab a coffee, maybe some donuts, and then head home.

Once I got back, it was time for the annual mega breakfast. Biscuits and gravy. Bacon. Eggs. Sausage. Hash browns. Pancakes, maybe some grits. It was a once a year kind of breakfast and it always felt like the perfect way to start the day.

Then I would spread out the newspapers and start digging through the ads while the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade played in the background. That was my morning. It felt right. It felt like Thanksgiving.

Now I look around and none of that is here anymore.

Newspapers are ten bucks a pop if you can even find them, and the Black Friday ads inside are barely worth flipping through. Most of the sales start weeks before the actual day. The fun of finding something by digging through pages is gone. Everything is digital. Everything is instant. I miss the treasure hunt part of it.

I was never the guy waiting outside for the big TVs or game consoles. I would definitely be there once the doors opened, but would then go after the weird little deals. Five dollar coffee makers. Seven dollar towel sets, etc. All the stuff no one was fighting over. That was my lane and it was fun.

But the breakfast? My kids are grown and everyone’s routine is different now. I might end up eating cereal this morning. It feels strange even thinking that.

The parade? I honestly don't even know what streaming service I need for it. (and I'm so sick of constantly having to download new streaming apps). Such a stark contrast to back in the day when I would just turn the TV on, flip the channel either way two or three spots amongst the network channels and start watching it. 

Same story with the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special. It was the way I finished off my day. Maybe with a little wine or brandy.. and one last slice of pumpkin pie. I would most likely have to sign up for yet another service if I try to watch it tonight.

Thanksgiving dinner? I'm not going to get started on that one for a few reasons. That one is still a question mark. I just don't know where or what it will look like, which is something I never used to think about. 

Things change. Time moves whether we want it to or not.

I've always been a creature of habit. I like my routines. So being this far away from what Thanksgiving used to be for me feels strange. 

That being said my friends.. there is something oddly freeing about it at the same time. I cannot totally explain it yet. I've not yet sorted out the feeling completely. But maybe that's okay.

Maybe it's fine to sit in this space for a bit. To look back and miss things but not cling to them. To admit that the old way was great.. but the new way might have something in it too, even if I'm far from finding it.

For now, I am just here. Thanksgiving morning. A little out of sorts. A little nostalgic. A little curious what the day will turn into. Just me my coffee.. sitting outside gazing at the trees.

And maybe that is enough.