It’s Thanksgiving, and I am at work. I don’t mind.

South Florida is one of those areas where there is a good percentage of people who happen to not live near their families. My area attracts independents, people seeking adventure, and those of us who rabidly crave the sunshine (and of course, more than our fair share of weirdos). As a result, there are others like me – the “orphans,” unable to make it 1000 miles away to join their families for turkey and pie.

I haven’t gone back north for a Thanksgiving since I moved here, so… not for seven years. (It’s a LOT to travel home for T-giving AND xmas, too – I figure it’s more important I’m there to greet Santa and collect my loot. If not, he might stop coming!) This means two things.

1. I tend to hook up with other orphans and we make our own family dinner. These are commonly called “orphan dinners.”

and

2. I volunteer to work, so my colleagues who are near their families can spend the day with them.

It’s not a full day. I just got here about an hour and a half ago, and will leave in a couple of hours. I’m here to give a tour of the shelter to a family who is volunteering their time to serve Thanksgiving meal to our residents, and to take their photos and make sure they’re where they are needed. Tour over, headed down to the dining hall to take some photos as soon as I post this.

Afterward, I’ll head to the home of one of my rugby teammates where other orphans are gathering for turkey and lots and lots and lots of wine.

And Irish car bombs, if I read my email correctly.

Happy Holiday!

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 23rd, 2006 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.