November 25, 2009

tradition

Do you have any holiday traditions? Did you ever stop to think about how those things — a certain food, a certain ritual — came to be elevated to the status of Tradition?

Repetition. That’s what makes something a tradition — the sheer fact that you do it over and over.

Last year, I spent Thanksgiving at the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. It was one of those crazy! things! that was so hard to explain to people — why would I leave my kids on Thanksgiving? Who would cook? How on earth did I wind up getting paid to talk about turkey?!?

Eh, I still can’t really explain that last part. But I can tell you that spending Thanksgiving with the Talk-Line experts was the perfect way to pass the holiday.

I’m back in Chicago again this year, which seems to mean that this is becoming a tradition. On Friday, I’ll be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my family, and while I’m looking forward to spending the day with them, I’m really excited to be here for the actual holiday, to spend it doing work I love with people I really like.

I think that part — the feeling of joy — is an essential component of tradition. Don’t you?

Tomorrow I’ll be live blogging from the Turkey Talk-Line. So when you’re ~~hiding from the family~~ ~~pretending to baste the turkey~~ looking for helpful tips and hints about how to cook the perfect dinner, come by! I can’t imagine any place I would rather be on Thanksgiving morning.

Especially if there’s cake.