Thanksgiving is just around the corner, a time when the whole family will once again gather around a table laden with delicious food, a warm atmosphere, and intimate conversations... Yes, Thanksgiving is coming and at the same time, it’s time for Thanksgiving stories, both funny and sad.
This story, which we're about to share with you today, told by the user u/Whorible_wife69 in the AITA community on Reddit, is rather sad - although the unequivocal support from people in the comments makes us believe that everything will be fine for the author. At least, Thanksgiving is also about hope.
The author of the post had a longstanding family tradition of cooking a big Thanksgiving dinner for all their relatives
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)
The woman always collected money from the relatives and started cooking at the beginning of Thanksgiving week
Image credits: u/Whorible_wife69
However, this year, the author went through a tough time due to separating from her husband, so she just had no interest in cooking
Image credits: Anastasia Shuraeva (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/Whorible_wife69
The woman warned the family members about her decision in advance - but they started getting alarmed only a few days before the holiday
Image credits: Craig Adderley (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/Whorible_wife69
So the author just wants to spend Thanksgiving day at the beach, but hesitates about whether she's being 'selfish'
So, the Original Poster (OP), in her own words, is 27 years old, and for the last eight of them, she has always prepared Thanksgiving dinner for her entire extended family. And this is neither more nor less, but 20+ people every year - and almost every time, one of the relatives would bring additional guests.
No, don’t think that the author was deliberately forced by evil relatives! Quite the contrary, the woman herself admits that she always liked to cook, come up with new combinations of tastes and products, buy ingredients in stores - and family members always chipped in money to organize everything. Usually, there were 3 turkeys, 2 party pans of mac and cheese, and a party pan of mashed potatoes - and countless other appetizers to satisfy the tastebuds of all the guests.
The OP always started preparing everything at the beginning of the month. She collected money, went shopping, and then, when Thanksgiving week began, she started cooking. Dish after dish, stage after stage - and by Thursday evening, the house was filled with many delicious smells, which were largely responsible for creating a real festive atmosphere.
Sometimes, one of the guests brought their friends with kids, and then the OP had to make something right in the middle of dinner, but a true home cook, as we know, will not be put off by this. Perhaps the only thing that usually upset the woman was that since her meals were devoured every time, she would never have any leftovers the morning after to make sandwiches...
And now, a new Thanksgiving year is just around the corner, but our heroine, in her own words, has absolutely no interest in doing anything. The reason being that this year, she separated from her husband, with whom she had always shared this pre-holiday bustle. So it turned out that this time the woman decided in advance that, instead of cooking, she would spend the day at the beach. Luckily, she lives in Florida.
So, at the beginning of the month, when her relatives, as usual, began to ask the author how much they should chip in, she immediately wrote them back that she would not be cooking this year. Apparently, these words were not taken seriously because one of her uncles Zelle'd her the usual amount - and was incredibly surprised after getting his Zelle returned to him.
That’s when the relatives got alarmed - and began to massively put pressure on the OP, trying to force her to change her plans. But she remained unconvinced, although she was full of doubts about whether she was doing the right thing. So the woman decided to ask people online for advice and support.
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
“What can I say? Absolutely the right decision. Home cooking - especially on an occasion like a big holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas - is not just mechanical work, it is akin to art, and for this you need inspiration,” says Roman Sardarian, a chef from Odessa, Ukraine, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment on this case. “And if there is no inspiration, and especially no mental resource to cook, then it is better to transfer this matter to someone else.”
“Of course, in large families, there are long-term traditions when the same person cooks for this or that holiday for years, but there are exceptions to all rules, and this woman did the right thing by warning everyone in advance. If everything goes well next year, then the proper mood for the Thanksgiving cooking will return, but for now, the beach looks like a great option. Especially considering that it’s cold in many other places now,” Roman notes.
Most commenters, of course, supported the original poster in her decision, although they asked for clarification on some aspects of their family tradition. So, it turned out that usually the relatives had a holiday rotation - for example, Christmas is celebrated in one house, Easter in another one, and Thanksgiving was usually the prerogative of the OP’s house.
However, almost all the people in the comments sincerely believe that the author did absolutely the right thing, and that moral support and peace of mind are much more important for her now. As for the relatives, as commenters presume, they should be more mature here. "You're going through something right now with the separation and the fact that all of these people have somehow started relying on only you to provide the meal is insane," one of the folks wrote in the comments.
We can only hope that everything in the life of the original poster will soon get better. After all, as we mentioned before, Thanksgiving is not only about gratitude but about hope as well. Don't you agree with this?
People in the comments, however, unanimously supported the woman, wishing her nothing but the best and good luck
