I Still Miss the Healthcare, Though...

Okay, before I say this next bit, I feel the need to remind you of a few things:

- I drink from a CBC mug while listening to CBC all day at work
- My spellchecker at work is set to English US for the sole purpose of catching superfluous "U's" in my writing. Whenever possible, I ignore it.
- I snicker obnoxiously whenever someone here complains about the cold and say things like, "do you know how cold it is in Winnipeg right now?"
- Top of my "best trip souvenirs" The Husband has ever brought me was four crullers from the Toronto airport Tim Hortons.

So, is my status as une Canadienne yet firm? Does anyone doubt the ardency with which I continue to totally heart my home and native land?

I hope not, because I'm still going to say it:




American Thanksgiving is better than Canadian Thanksgiving.




(Also: Black Friday kicks more a$$ than Boxing Day.)




[wait for hue and cry to die down]

We attended our first American-style Thanksgiving yesterday. So this year, the whole build-up to the holiday has actually meant something to me. Instead of quizzically raising an eyebrow at coworkers making travel plans and fretting about menus/family turmoil/icy roads, I found myself caught up in the excitement.

And, lo and behold, I think I'm understanding the tizzy. Look at what you get:

- A day where everyone thinks it is so important to be with family, it overshadows Christmas.
- A three-day work week (which essentially equals a Monday + a day where you actually get a bit of work done + a Friday) instead of a tacked-on, after-thought kind of a Monday, after which you get to trudge right back to work while still digesting all them potatoes
- A holiday so big and exciting that you need another day off work to recover. And then you've still got the weekend!

Plus, it seems like this gorgeous, expansive, generous, gracious gateway to the holiday season. In Canada, once it's over, you've got a long 10 windy, wintery weeks with nothing but a little bump at Hallowe'en to keep your spirits up until Christmas finally creeps into view. Here? We're whipped into a frenzy like so many candied yams, and we won't stop until the last Auld Lang Syne dies down.

Helps that we got a super awesome Thanksgiving dinner. We lucked out and got invited by people who have vegetarian kids, so while some attendees ate turkey, The Husband and I gorged ourselves on a puff pastry/seitan/stuffing extravaganza. Plus my first pumpkin pie of the year!

After that we came home and The Husband did the football thing and I did the reading thing while the kids hung out. Today was just free and easy - The Husband did a bit of Black Friday shopping and I administered playdates (The Boy is attending his first sleepover as I type!). And, even though I've got some cleaning to do yet today, I've still got two whole days to myself.

Seriously - it's pretty awesome.