Friends Thanksgiving

A group of us who met on the 2009 new faculty bus tour have continued to get together on a regular basis since then. In fact, we've been such a tight-knit group that some folks at the university referred to us as the "first year mafia" last year--a term that we wholeheartedly embraced. Academia is a strange world, and I think we've provided a great social support network for each other. It's nice to have friends outside of your department who are as terrified as you are.

Last year, we had a "friends" Thanksgiving potluck dinner. That was the day that I realized that I had found a little family of great folks here in the Nodak. I wasn't going to attend the dinner, because I didn't have a sitter and Hyrum was working and I was so accustomed to events and gatherings that were not kid friendly that I didn't even want to try to take Albie with me. A few hours before dinner was supposed to start, the host realized I wasn't coming and that it was because I didn't have a sitter, but she didn't have my number. She called someone who called me, and the relayed message was essentially WTF are you thinking? Get your butt over here. Of course your child is welcome. I actually teared up I was so touched that a) people realized I had a child, b) my child was welcome, and c) I would be missed if I didn't attend.

Well, we're doing it again this year. There will be 20 of us. How exciting! It's like a family holiday without all of the family drama. What more could you ask for?

I volunteered to bring the turkey. Well, I'm actually going to prep the turkey and then take it to the hosts' house around 11:30 and just shove it in the oven, and then they'll tend to it until supper time.

I'm not obligated to bring anything else on top of the turkey, but I decided to make this Cranberry-Citrus Relish with Pomegranate and TEQUILA! as well, because we made it one year and it's just fantastic.

I'm thinking that after this big dinner on Sunday, I'm not going to do the whole dinner thing for the three of us on the official day. I'm thinking I'll bring home the turkey carcass and make some kind of soup...