we had been talking about the fourth friday in november for months now but the actual day kind of snuck up on us. I woke up that thursday, walked downstairs and with tears in my eyes I told the girls happy thanksgiving. I had talked to my whole family wednesday night and they were all getting into charleston for a klug family reunion and I’ll admit I was a bit devastated to not be there. as I took lucy to school I apologized for seeming so sad, and that I just really missed my family and wanted to be with them for my favorite holiday. she told that was how she was going to feel when I went home for christmas, like a part of her family was missing for the holiday. sweet babe.
I decided that an american holiday merits skipping class and that I needed fresh air so spent the morning on a really long walk reflecting on all the things I was thankful for. it was one of the prettiest fall mornings we’d had in a long time and I loved every bit of it singing loudly and saying hello to everyone I passed. with pep in my step and a lighter heart, I realized how therapeutic these walks around my neighborhood are for me.
that afternoon, as I was walking out the door, marie wished me a happy thanksgiving and told me to have the night off. sara, annie, penn and I had a thanksgiving lunch at one of our favorite sandwich places, cosi, followed by an afternoon of shopping for our friday night dinner. we went to the american grocery store called thanksgiving, which was absolutely packed. and they were selling pumpkin pies for 28 euros and boxes of wheat thins for 9.50. absolutely absurd. and sad that we considered both.
I went to meet jack (a friend who was here visiting for work) that night, passing all the crowds of people watching the christmas displays in the big department store windows. he had gotten us two tickets to the opera. I was embarrassed because I hadn’t realized we were going so I was extremely underdressed. so much so that I almost stopped into the h&m around the corner for a quick outfit change. I was even more embarrassed when they asked to check my purse and I had a huge box of petite ecolier cookies that I had bought to eat for dinner/to replenish the ones I’d eaten of sara’s in the previous weeks. speaking from a former fat girl, nobody wants to get caught sneaking in cookies to the opera. I know nothing about the opera but really enjoyed the music and our seats had a perfect view of the pit so I was more entertained watching them than the performance. there were people dressed in red coats which reminded me of the blessing of the hounds our family normally goes to. the music was really beautiful though and the building makes you feel like you are living in beauty and the beast. definitely something I want to take all my visitors to. we had plans to go to the top of the eiffel tower but unfortunately left the opera too late.
I had wanted to call my grandmother’s house or set up a skype that night, but I ended up staying out too late so the next day I talked with my grandmother and some family that was still at her house. and it felt like being at her house the day after thanksgiving eating leftovers, just like always.
we ate thanksgiving dinner at annie’s family’s house. there were 15 of us, most either american or brittish. annie and penn did a really amazing job cooking. I had to work all day and I really missed spending the day in and out of the kitchen and smelling everything cooking all day, spending the majority of the day with feet on the couch watching football. dinner was delicious and luckily the mashed potatoes were conveniently located in front of me. someone shared the story of thanksgiving and we ate, laughed and celebrated for hours.
annie and I were sitting beside one another and we got super sentimental because thanksgiving has been the one day we were semi dreading being here in paris. we got teary eyed realizing how thankful we were for the company we were with. thankful to be sitting in a room full of people who three months ago were strangers, and are now people we call best friends. thankful to have been able to find such great friends like these who were able to fill the holes from missing family with so much love and joy and whose friendship have made the transition to a new strange city all the more exciting. and thankful for bellies full of sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. of course we missed home and our families and friends, but it was also kind of neat to do an entirely different grown up kind of thanksgiving and made us appreciate all the more the family traditions we have waiting for us next year.
nancy ruined our “moment” by choking on a hazelnut, which I almost lodged not realizing patting someone on the back is not the appropriate way to help them.
we had plans to go out to meet friends and but nobody looked at the clock till 3:30 am so we just stayed at anne and vincent’s and played music and danced and sang around the living room until 5 when we left because their children were going to be waking up in two hours. I hope I can throw dinner parties like they do when I’m older.
the day after sara, annie and I ate leftovers and ended up falling asleep on the couch watching tv. it was the perfect end to a perfect thanksgiving.
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