Thanksgiving In Manhattan

All photos except where noted: Dreamtime

I’ve spent all my adult life in Manhattan. My 1st Thanksgivng here I spent with my friend, Chris, a Julliard gratuate from New Orleans and met his lovely Louisiana Mama at his apartment. He lived in Hell’s Kitchen at the time, and after dusk, walked me back to Penn Station for safety. Other mutual friends attended his Thanksgiving dinner too, and we ate scrumptious food and exchanaged many amusing stories at the dinner table.

The next 8 Thanksgivings I walked across Central Park to spend Thanksgiving Day on the Upper West Side with the same friends, Don and LeAnn and their ballet friends. Don and LeAnn were together for 15 years before sadly divorcing. 

Then I accepted various Thanksgiving invitations ... 3 times spending it on the Upper East Side, once on the Lower East Side, once going to Princeton N.J. by train, once traveling by train to a N.J. town I no longer remember the name of, and a few times spending Thanksgiving with my friends, Sheila and Ken, who lived in Clifton Park, N.J. Sadly they are both deceased now. Sheila’s death was a shock! I’ve accepted her loss, but still think about it. A couple of years I also hosted Thanksgiving dinners in my apartment with different New York friends who have since moved away to other cities. We had wonderful times with none of us having to worry about long commutes home at night.

Truthfully, life is bittersweet and always influx. It never stands still, not for past, present, or future generations. Change is a certainty.

This year I’m again spending Thanksgiving Day in Manhattan. I’ll be with my senior Mom in my apartment. As a younger adult I always went to see my parents for Christmas, but thought I should establish my own Thanksgiving traditons. The two holidays are so close together also.

But life comes full circle, and now as my senior Mom’s caregiver this will be our 4th Thanksgiving spent together (not counting my childhood). I’m happy she’s healthy enough to walk indoors on a walker and can stay with me in my home. I’m grateful to be able to keep our dwindling family (we miss the ones who have passed) together. I learn new things about old people daily.

When I do have dinner guests to prepare for I enjoy having them over, and yet this year I’m thankful to have a more relaxing Thanksgiving without travel or the cleanup. We’ll likely order-in our turkey dinner and supplement it with more sides or desserts if we desire anything. We’ll watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on televison (I went to it twice) followed by the National Dog Show. This year, it’s exactly how I long to spend Thanksgiving Day. If we feel like it, we may bake the first batch of our Christmas cookies ... or not! We’ll let our Thanksgiving Day unfold and spend it exactly as we wish, in the moment; well-fed; and perhaps some of it horizontially.😁

Photo: Istock

Our friends and family will visit us one or two at a time from Advent to New Year's, and we’ll love seeing them as we’ll be fully rested.

🍁Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

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