WHY EVERYONE SHOULD WEAR A ONESIE ON THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  For one, luscious day, the whole world slows down and life is all about  family and food.  Plus, Duncan does all the cooking.  

Every year, I buy onesies to wear.  They are comfy, and hide a multitude of sins.  I hand-pick each one for the person who will be forced to wear it.   Some family members embrace this tradition better than others.   It can be an acquired taste.

After dinner, we head out, in our footed PJs, to play football in the middle of the street.  Strangers stare at us, but we don't try to hide our madness; we embrace it.

Why Everyone Should Wear a Onsie on Thanksgiving from ANNIE on Vimeo.

 My kids tell me that I throw a mean spiral, and I smile because it reminds me that I lied to them about the same thing when they were young.

Our strangest tradition, however, has nothing to do with food or football.  When someone joins us for Thanksgiving for the first time, they are "encouraged" to walk down the center of the dinner table.  Or should I say dance?  At least they have to strut.  Assuming they can walk.  Our new granddaughter, Rose, will be called to the honor this year.    I know I will cry.  And Duncan will be holding my hand.  I'll be reminded of the year Rose's father, my oldest son, Ian, sat at the Thanksgiving table for the first time, tied to a chair with a dishtowel.  Before he strutted.  

It's the empty chairs around the Thanksgiving table that pierce my heart.  This year, Duncan's dad will be gone.  At some point, probably after saying grace, I will nod to him, in invisible silence.  I know he will be with us.  He will always have a place at our table.  

This Thanksgiving, I hope you embrace the traditions, and people, that best help you to live purposefully, with wild abandon, and deliberate joy.

In a onesie.