Perennial Passion

I am not cooking Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday--I rarely cook "the big dinner" on any holiday. Why? Because I have to work. I will only work a few hours in the morning, but it is just enough to ruin the holiday. A good percentage of Americans are looking forward to a 4-day holiday weekend. I have NEVER had a 4-day holiday weekend since I began working in a hotel 19 years ago. Don't get me wrong--I have a great job, decent pay, and nice co-workers. But I NEVER get any extra days off to enjoy the celebratory times of life. I want my kitchen scented with cinnamon from the pumpkin pie baking in the oven, I want to hear the "pop" of fresh cranberries as they thicken to a relish, smell the turkey browning to perfection...I want the whole Norman Rockwell scene. I want to go to bed on a holiday evening and NOT have to get up at 4am to go to work the next day. Actually I get up at 4 a.m. every day (even weekends), I love to get up at 4 a.m., I just don't want to have to shower, do my hair, etc. Am I whining? Yes, and I think I deserve to whine a little.