thanksgiving

never again will i take thanksgiving for granted. i never really thought about how much i loved it, but now it's gone and i want it back. 
trying to describe thanksgiving to french people makes me realize what a bizarre and wonderful holiday it is. that you're gathering with your family and/or friends just to be thankful. and maybe to eat a lot and watch football while you're at it. 
the parts of thanksgiving that seem weirdest to them are that the meal is eaten in the late afternoon, and that you make a pie out of pumpkin. "une tarte de citrouille? dégueulasse!"
part of me just wants to skip it and ignore that it's thanksgiving because there's no way to truly recreated the experience here and i'm sad to be missing it. but i'm being oh so brave and making two valiant attempts at thanksgiving dinners, one tonight and one on sunday. 
so be thankful if you get to be with your family today and i'll try to remember that i'm living in the south of france and even if i didn't have a million other reasons, that is most definitely one for which to be thankful.