Turkey Rush
Traveling during Thanksgiving week can be one great test of patience. Even with the idea of the holiday being giving thanks, as I pass through throngs of passengers on line at the airport and slowly pace along congested highways, I realize just how far away most of us get from the season’s theme.
And the worst part is many of us aren’t even that excited for this often stressful meal. It means getting over family grudges, taking vacation days when we can’t go to the beach, and translating that black, or green, or blue Friday into gifts we can’t afford while battling through more crowds.
I may sound unexcited, but I do like the chance to swim in a sea of people, and there are some wonderful familiar faces I do look forward to seeing in between over-sized bites of pumpkin pie. In light of the trials and triumphs of Thanksgiving, I offer a few ideas for those who are frustrated with the week’s ever-present mosh pit:
1. Breath. Breath deeply and slowly. Imagine palm trees in front of you and feel sand between your toes.
2. Watch people as if you were an anthropologist – the colors, the outfits, the faces. Think to yourself, where are they going? Are they the ones cooking? Are they doomed to a table of grumpy stepparents or gleefully awaiting meeting a new niece for the first time? How many dorky Thanksgiving-themed cocktails will they have before they sit down to dinner?
3. If you need an escape, head to the nearest 24-hour diner and have your own little moment, whether its a whole greasy meal or just a cup of cocoa. How can we so easily forget just how good hot cocoa is?
4. Pretend you are a water buffalo on the African plains making a yearly migration south and be one with the crowd. Don’t stampede, instead look at all the very many types of shoes people wear for the journey…
