I woke up on Thanksgiving morning, purposely a bit later than usual so I wouldn’t be pressured into watching the annual parade and dog show that my mom and I get a kick out of. I took my time getting dressed and heading out to the dining room, where my pie-making station awaited me. I had planned to make my “TV free day” on Thanksgiving because I knew that I was going to be busy cooking and converting recipes all day, and I don’t care about football unless it’s on a collegiate level.
I spent the day figuring out how to create a vegan pumpkin pie, (apple pie was easy enough, granted the lattice on top took me forever to do nicely) as my dad and uncle teased me for being “Amish”. There mocking was actually rather funny and I enjoyed spending time with them, (my dad was making his famous homemade bread as my uncle carefully supervised).
All was well until my pies had to bake and suddenly, I had absolutely nothing to do. My mom was at work, my brother was playing my Wii in the back room, and the other two oh-so-supportive ones were watching the football game, even though neither of them likes football. I stood around for a bit, tried tidying up the kitchen a little and started wondering if my teachers had emailed me the information for my letter(s) of recommendation yet.
My dad told me to stop fidgeting and calm down, so I swayed in a doorway for about ten minutes. As I bumped into the jamb repeatedly, I remembered a trick that I used to do when I was younger where I would press my hands against the doorjamb for thirty seconds, then watch them raise up when I stepped away from the door. I did this for almost an hour.
Finally, I was able to pull my first pie out of the over and start on mashed potatoes. I was hard at work again, my boredom quickly being eased. I skinned the potatoes with great enthusiasm as my dad handed me a slice of his freshly baked bread. I put the potatoes on the stove and waited. My dad decided that he wanted to bring some bread and soup, (famous amongst my rowing team) to some people that worked at a local pub that we normally go to on Thursdays. I wanted to go too, so I quickly mashed my potatoes, covered them with a lid, turned off the oven, and he my uncle and I headed down to the pub.
Apparently, my dad had told the waiters about my “project” and they found the whole situation rather amusing themselves. My uncle kept asking questions such as, “Are you allowed to talk about TV?” knowing that movies were one of my favorite subjects. So after drinking my holiday Mexican Coca-Cola, the only way to drink it, we headed home and I finished setting the table.
We ate the dinner, it was quite delicious if I may say so myself, and after that we all passed out from a food coma for the rest of the night. Except for my brother, who continued to play on my Wii until about two thirty in the morning.
How did you communicate?
I barely use my phone anyway, so giving up my cell phone was easy. As for Facebook and other social networking sites, I can honestly say that I check my school email far more often than I check any of those, so finding out a day later about so and so’s new nose ring wasn’t a he loss. My whole family, (two uncles, parents, one brother and I) were all there, and I’m notorious for not keeping in touch with my friends, so it wasn’t much different than a normal day.
How did you get your news?
I read the newspaper, that’s how I typically get my news anyway. Newspaper reporting is a dying industry that I think people will be sorry to see it gone if all the newspapers disappear, so I try to support my local newspaper. That was until they started shoving their uber-conservative views on everyone without giving another side to the story. I need to find a new newspaper…
How did you entertain yourself?
I cooked and baked all day long which is a favorite hobby of mine. I also did the thing in the doorjamb, the one where you watch your hands go in the air after you press them against the jamb for a while. If you haven’t tried it you should, it’s a trip. I also played solitaire when times got really tough.
What was the most difficult gadget you had to give up and why?
The hardest thing for me to give up wasn’t even really a gadget. I had a hard time giving up my email. I’m fine with giving up my computer for a day because I don’t have any video games or anything like that on it anyway, but my email was something that I really wanted to check. I had been waiting for some responses to college related questions for a few days and the second I got my answer I was going to submit my applications, so not being able to work on my applications was extremely stressful for me.
What about the least difficult sacrifice?
Probably my cell phone. I barely use it anyway and most people know that about me so if they wanted to get a hold of me, so they probably wouldn’t call me unless they knew I wasn’t going to be at my house. Then I usually answer it.
Were there any surprises for you?
Not really, I already knew that I work better when I have background noise, so having my dad and uncle there was helpful. When I didn’t have anything to do I pretty much expected to get bored. So no, there weren’t any real surprises. I’m pretty much Amish anyway, you should see my stove, (not a complaint at all).
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