7 Things I Also Hate About Thanksgiving

 

Thanksgiving excites me for a variety of reasons such as bringing family together that you may not have seen in a while for a good meal and conversation. Though it is one of my favorite holidays, I must admit there are some things about Thanksgiving that I also hate. If you’re curious, then I will elaborate.

In our family, we assign different cooking tasks to each other locally so not to burden just one of us with all the work for such a large family gathering. When it’s your turn to prepare the turkey, then it also means getting up extra early to start cleaning the turkey and making the stuffing before getting it to the oven. Of course, you have to tackle a stack of dishes and disinfect surfaces to prevent any salmonella contamination, which is something I hate about Thanksgiving.

Another thing I also hate about Thanksgiving is trying to get that metal out between the turkey’s legs. This is even worse than getting up early and cleaning the bird before and afterwards. Trying to get that piece of metal out of the bird is always a challenge that takes time for me to do without making more of a mess.

Something else I hate is sticking my hand deep inside the turkey to pull out that bag of giblets and finding two necks while usually freezing my hands in this corpse where there are usually some small pieces of ice left also. Really? Companies should just charge more per pound than try to artificially inflate the prices by throwing extra garbage turkey parts to make the bird weigh more.

Afterwards, I hate how long it takes for that little bubble to pop up to test if the turkey is done. I never trust those built-in temperature regulators and always use my own meat thermometer. But waiting while you’re trying not to eat to save room for dinner is so hard when that aroma of cooking turkey is tempting you and never seems to get done.

How else can I forget the problem of political discussions? My family takes politics seriously. Usually, there can be some expected healthy bantering between family members with opposing views, which always ends politely. In all the times we had presidents, there was never a problem because it was about the country where Republicans and Democrats just had some differences of opinion.

Now the political climate is toxic, which affects the country and us all. There was never any resentment or bitterness over political discussions, but Trump and the current administration have divided the country and families such as never before. I am tired of hearing “fake news” and you got to ask yourself when “fake news” was invented? One of the things I truly dread about the entire clan sitting down together this year is the political battling that I know will take place, which is another thing I hate about Thanksgiving 2019.

A lot of people in your home when hosting Thanksgiving also means you can expect spills on your carpet or furniture. This comes with the territory and most times can be easily remedied. However, sometimes someone may overindulge and accidentally do something they never would do such as urinating in your vibrating recliner. The poor guy never knew, but I found that little gift when they left. Yes, I had to toss that piece. When that kind of thing happened once, especially to a piece that you really liked, the memory of it still lingers to become another thing I hate about Thanksgiving.

Another gripe of mine that I hate about Thanksgiving is the time-consuming task of cleaning any remaining turkey from the bones. How can anyone love how greasy their fingers become slicing and pulling off skin to how long it takes separating meat from bones? I think taking the meat off the turkey and later trying to even wash your hands, let alone to scrape off all the garbage and wrapping it to the waiting mountain of dishes is yet another thing I hate about Thanksgiving.

Even though these are just things I hate about this holiday, I always get through by being thankful for family and all that I have in my life.