Thanksgiving... Ex-pat styles

As an American, there is no holiday more universal than Thanksgiving. It is celebrated nationwide. It's a family holiday. It's a sports holiday. It's a shopping holiday. It's a 4-day weekend holiday that's notorious for travel (and delays). And in spite of the universality, it's celebrated uniquely in every home.

Many will describe a similar scaffold for the holiday:

• Wednesday: Travel, get stuck, dig out, get stuck again, travel more, arrive a little late...
• Thursday: Cook cook cook bake cook FOOTBALL! At some point, sit around a table, at multiple tables, at the adult table, at the kid's table, on the floor... wherever is comfortable, and EAT... 
• Friday: SHOP! It's black friday, you have to get going on those Christmas presents. Plus, there's more football on TV. And LEFTOVERS!
• Saturday: Uh... Football and Leftovers
• Sunday: More leftovers... more football... And it's time to pack up for travel back. Why does that always go smoother on the return trip?

Everyone has their own traditions. Their own habits. Their own recipes that make the holiday what it is. And it's something you cannot duplicate. And it's something I miss.

The holidays always leave me a little homesick. I haven't decided if knowing my family is together makes it easier or harder to be apart. But in my time away from home, I've learned a few things. Most importantly, you cannot do the exact same thing without the people. I once tried to replicate what my family does at home; that was a mistake that only left me feeling more miserable and further from home. I once had a group of ex-pats make a Thanksgiving dinner and take a small holiday... That too was a bit of a let-down. Sometimes the traditions from different families don't blend together very well.

For nearly a decade, a very generous donor (and member of the board of trustees) has hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for the Domers in Dublin. It's not the traditional Thanksgiving at home, it's not family style serving, it's not sweatpants or looser belts, it's not a beer and the game on TV. But I have to say, I enjoy the ND-Dublin Thanksgiving for all of those reasons. Rather than being in jeans and a sweatshirt, it's semi-formal attire. Instead of a giant bowl of mashed potatoes in the middle of the table, it's five-star fully catered dining. And while football is the normal background entertainment, a small talent show greased by the wheels of a champagne reception is a suitable replacement. I love the ND Thanksgiving because it isn't home. It is different enough not to try to be home. And the food... it's delicious. It's not exactly right, it's not what I'd be having at home, but it's close enough. And for five of the past six years in Ireland, I've been lucky enough to attend this Mass and Meal in celebration of Thanksgiving. And for that, I owe Mr. Martin Naughton a very large and heartfelt thank you. I do have to dash home from work, change clothes (put on something fancy), re-do my makeup and hair, then dash out to Mass. It's all very rushed. And I don't have Friday off work, so I can't make it too late of a night. But Dublin is my home (not that Minnesota is not home), and Mr. Naughton has helped me find a lovely way to have a comfort of home in a grand Irish way.

No offense to the Irish, Thanksgiving is a holiday that's very foreign. And I miss home. It's one of the most difficult holidays for an Ex-Pat... But I have so much to be thankful for. So much here, and so much back home.

Happy Thanksgiving.