Thanksgiving for One

This year will be a first for me. I will be cooking a Thanksgiving meal for me, myself and I. Why? See, I am a picky eater and as I get older, I become even more and more picky. It's nothing that I am doing intentionally, I just really have a hard time eating certain foods now. It's all mental, I know and I am honestly scared there will come a day when I refuse to eat anything thing at all, and I will end up in some institution rocking back and forth saying the word "peas" sixty-three times in a row, washing my hands one hundred and thirty times before turning the lights on and off fifty-seven times.

This year, I decided I would sponsor a turkey from the Farm Sanctuary. His name is Payton and he lives on a 300-acre no kill sanctuary in California. He is super cute! So, I can rest easy that there will be one less defenceless animal out there in a crowded, feces infested cage with broken legs because they cannot support the weight of their super growth hormone injected bodies. Yes, I know the Bible says that animals were put here for human consumption, and never have I ever tried to make anyone feel guilty about eating meat. I just believe that for me, I feel better physically and emotionally if I do not.

I really blame my Mimi for this -- when I was around eight, we were driving to Muleshoe and we passed by the slaughter house. I asked her what it was and she told me, going into lengthy detail about the process. Of course, it made me super sad and I didn't eat a lot of red meat from then on. Every once in a while, I do get a craving for a big juicy burger, but it generally is when my hormones are being crazy. In 8th grade, I stopped eating pork all together -- no bacon, ham or pork chops and I really don't miss it. It was then that I started with the turkey bacon because it was supposed to be better for you and I would occasionally eat chicken. It has really just been in the last few years that my tastes have changed and I really just like veggies. I especially love eating raw veggies. And, honestly, to me the black bean veggie burger and the veggie bacon are better than the real stuff. I do like shrimp and salmon, but that's about all the seafood I can handle. And, surprisingly enough, the more veggies I eat, the less I am liking pasta. It makes me feel really heavy and gross when I eat it. Now, if I could just feel that way about chocolate and cheese enchiladas, I wouldn't have to worry about my weight ever again!! :)

All I can say is that God made me special -- he understands me if no one else does and I'm okay with that.

So, what does this all have to do with Thanksgiving? Well, my family, as much as they love me and don't make fun of me when I cry about how mean the food industry is to the poor, helpless cow, chicken, pig or turkey, they like meat. So, I told my mom she could have Thanksgiving dinner back. I am just going to fix me some pasta probably with some fresh veggies and they can have whatever they want and I won't have to pay for it or eat it.

 I am a devout holiday traditionalist, so this a huge step for me. But, I'm telling myself it will be okay and I am looking forward to it! Sponsoring turkeys will just become my new tradition.

For those who are curious, here is a picture of the turkey I am sponsoring. I haven't received my certificate in the mail yet...so this is just the pic off the website. But, maybe next Thanksgiving, I can go visit him. That'd be super fun!!