Thanksgiving has admittedly never been our favorite holiday.  From the time we were little kids, there was always a hope that it would be something special, like in the movies.  The somewhat dysfunctional extended family, that is more endearing than crazy, getting together in their reindeer Christmas sweaters to eat the perfect meal.  Loud, controlled chaos. But, somehow perfect.
This, unfortunately, was never the case. We both come from 2 family families. Wait, is that even a term? Whatever, you get it. Each of us has a somewhat staid and small one, the kind that goes through the motions but doesn't quite go "all in", if you know what we mean. They are the kind that get up and cook all day long.  It's more out of obligation or expectation and not really desire.  They never enjoyed cooking and the final result was definitely a reflection of that.  Dry turkey, gravy from a can, jellied cranberry from a can, stuffing from a mix, etc.  It all just seemed sort of pointless. Then, we have the other family, these are the ones that push the limits of what a Holiday is and what is acceptable .There are some eerie similarities between Lindsay's 1980's kinfolk and John's 1980's kinfolk (Kinfolk is used here because of its  appropriateness for both parties, and because it's damn fun to say). Especially when looking at photos of holidays past. It is not uncommon for a polaroid to be fished from the depths of our seemingly bottomless picture box and hear the question asked, in all seriousness, "mine or yours" .  Within this box, feathered blonde hair and elastic waistbands abound. Aside from the obvious fashion mistakes our respective kin have shared, the pictures of past holiday spreads give proof to the many many years of traveling, eating, conversing, and in general, feeling like we were missing something. So, as a promise to ourselves we have decided to take back our holidays in an attempt to restore them to their purest form. Today, we will give thanks for each other and for our lives together.