I'm going on eleven years and counting when it comes to missing Thanksgiving dinner with my family. That's just the way it pans-out when you live at least eight hours (driving-time) from home! I've made my choice. Turkey day is number three on the holiday priority list. It goes something like this: Christmas Day, New Year's Eve/Day (aka: my birthday), then Thanksgiving.

So I haven't had Thanksgiving dinner with the "fam" in many moons, but that's okay and here's why. I always seem to get an invite to someone else's family celebration. Tonight, for example, my girlfriend and her fiance put-out a spread of Turkey, Ham and all the fixins. She, too works in tv news and will be on the job on teh actually holiday. Dinner was great. The best part about it, it's the first in a line of yummy Thanksgiving meals to come this week! The station always buys us dinner on the 'day-of' and yes, I have to work, too. I've also been invited to a co-workers house that evening... we all know what it's like to be away from family on holidays, because we've all missed so many! That's why, we take care of each other :)

And, when we can't take care of each other -- that's when we alter the holiday altogether. In my family, because of my crazy tv schedule, we've often times gotten together for Christmas the week before or the week after. The bottom line -- if you can't make it happen on the day of the holiday, you make it happen when you can.

I'm lucky, I get to go home on Christmas Day this year and I have New Year's Eve & Day off!!!! Turkey day will continue to simmer on the back burner, for now.