The great feast is only days away now… but there are so many questions.

I have checked in with several friends.  It seems we are all taking the Vermont governor’s orders to heart.  A few weeks ago, most of us already cancelled plans with any out-of-state family.  In the past week, we have all cancelled any local family, too. 

Now that we know the numbers we expect at the table, we are onto the details of what we are going to cook.  Traditions die hard… and turkeys are usually LARGE.

One friend told me her plans today.  She has a sister-in-law who is not really into cooking.  She and her husband love to cook.  In fact, they have a catering business and a retail store as well.  When she thinks about cooking the large Thanksgiving meal for only four people, she wonders if it is even worth it.  While some people dread the planning, preparation and serving of the traditional feast, that’s not how she feels.  She likes doing this; it’s kind of like Thanksgiving has been her gift to her extended family for the past twenty years.

When she heard her sister-in-law’s concerns, a switch went off in her head.  My friend just asked her sister-in-law to pitch in a bit for all the ingredients.  In return, my friend and her husband will cook twice as much.  Although they can’t sit together for the meal, both families will eat the same food.  Plus, it gives my friend a way to continue sharing her love of preparing great food for her family.  

But best of all, my friend noted, is the small silver lining of less clean up.  They will only be washing dishes for four people–not the traditional crowd of fifteen to twenty. 

Currently, they are planning on enjoying that time—on the ski slopes!