an unconventional thanksgiving

This indoor waterpark was the site of Thanksgiving 2007 for The Child and me. I have given up on trying to seek a traditional Thanksgiving. I am not traditional- no use pretending. I am a single parent, never married. I have no extended family to speak of, ever since my mother died many years ago. One year, when The Child was 10 months old, I held a quasi-traditional Thanksgiving meal at my house, complete with turkey, stuffing, potatoes and green beans. An assortment of friends attended. I was lucky that year; many friends were available and willing to share the date with us.

Too bad The Child was 10 months old- too young to have any conscious memories of that particular occasion. I'm not sure he believes me when I tell him about that very memorable Thanksgiving. Since then, those friends have married off, moved away, or become too busy.This year I thought I'd try something different. The Child has always been drawn to water, so I suspected he'd love one of those enormous waterparks which have recently been sprouting up all over the land. As for myself, I love bright lights and stimulation, so the above scene is rather appealing to me. Mind you, I am not proud of this preference of mine. I'd rather tell you that I'm a nature lover who wants to live in a cabin in the woods where my husband and I live off the land and homeschool our wholesome brood, but it isn't so. (Just to be sure I'm not confusing anyone, there is no husband, and technically, no brood since there's only one Child.)

And how many people get to test their athletic ability on a major holiday? Doesn't the above activity look more fun than sitting around a table full of fattening foods? (Seriously- I read that hospital emergency rooms are overflowing with people suffering heart attacks every Thanksgiving evening.)

Then, upon returning home, we were invited to a post-Thanksgiving dinner at Garnet's house, with his family from faraway and many of our friends. The Child and I managed to pull off a holiday featuring the best of both worlds.