First Thanksgiving in London

   I have to say our British friends here were very sensitive and respectful to our Thanksgiving tradition.  People here are very intrigued by our American holiday, and why we spend a holiday eating too much and saying Thanks.   To be honest the British can be very skeptical of many American beliefs and ways, but I think Thanksgiving is definitely an exception.     
   On Thursday as I drove my 2 mile commute(yes I point that since the past five years I have commuted every week to NY and NJ!) it hit me that I take Thanksgiving for granted.   There was this empty feeling in my stomach as I thought "no family, no Turkey, no football, no 4 day weekend........"   It really hit me.
   I bought my office team lunch and they were very gracious in their way of honoring our Holiday, as they insisted we shut the phones off and all sit together and enjoy our Chinese-takeout Thanksgiving lunch.   As I explained to my colleagues what the holiday is all about, I answered question after question after question about our great tradition.  It was nice, it wasn't home, but it was something to be thankful for.....
   Heather felt the void too.   I knew it would be tough for her not being with her parents and family.  We tried to decide all week what to do to celebrate.   So Heather put together a fantastic Turkey Dinner Thursday night just for the 4 of us.  This time the turkey was small (British style) but delicious, as were the sweet potatoes, the stuffing, the vegetables, the wine...unlike US style, there were no leftovers, but we were stuffed.....and very thankful!
   I started dinner with the traditional Pelatowski family toast (the kids love clicking glasses together when we start dinner).   I toasted "to the three bravest people I know:  Ryan, Mandy and Mommy"  Right then it hit me again. Here we are away from family on our first big holiday, but feeling like this was really special: we've survived the move and are flourishing together!  Thank you Mandy, Ryan and Heather.  
  This year, I didn't take Thanksgiving for granted......

 
To our families, friends and neighbors:  thank you too, and see u in 3 weeks!