Thanksgiving Eve

As I sit here and write this blog entry I am sitting at my aunt’s kitchen table in West Babylon, Long Island. It is Thanksgiving Eve. There is five people at the table: my grandfather and grandmother, my aunt Kim, her best friend Joanie, and myself. At this point my grandmother has finished making the turnips, apple and pumpkin pie, and her secret recipe stuffing. The turkey is sitting in the sink defrosting. Kim, Joanie, and grandpa sit here sipping white wine while Joanie argues that she hates her name and wants to change it. Grandma chooses Olivia, while my aunt Kim keeps giving her hooker names like Candy and Roxy. They all sit here and stare while I type and I say I am legitamatly doing homework. Aunt Kim asked what she can do for me and I tell her to continue this rambling conversation. Joanie states she is now Aunt Olivia. This conversation gets louder and funnier by the minute.
In the next room my brother is lounging on the couch watching the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as if nothing is phasing him. My uncle Michael is out celebrating what is apparently the biggest party night of the year. This is the first year we are going against Thanksgiving tradition. Every year I sleep at grandmas on this night and we spend the day preparing for tomorrow and set up her Christmas village. This year however, that did not happen. My mom is spending the holiday with her fiancé and his family and my other aunt is with her in-laws as well. I however, could not bare not eating grandmas turkey, it would feel wrong to sit somewhere else. So instead of having dinner for just three people, turkey day was moved here to Aunt Kim’s in Long Island. It feels strange. Tradition has been totally changed. I am not big on change. But here I am. I just hope that turkey is worth the 4 hours I sat in traffic to get here. Happy Thanksgiving!