A Thanksgiving in Canada

Thanksgiving came and went yesterday with not much fanfare. I loped in from work in time for a nap before I commenced what has become a daily grind of marking papers and lesson planning in the evening. My husband arrived not much later, equally tired, and we sat down for an unremarkable dinner that punctuated our loneliness on a day we both treasure as one filled with feasts, family and friends. Last year we hosted 15 in our bright and airy home in Tucson, Arizona. The long table, dressed in crisp white linens was decorated with tall bright bougainvillea blooms from the yard. Some guests took their cocktails out on the back patio, where the year before it was warm enough to dine. The kitchen was crammed with guests arriving with steaming dishes or people just enjoying the familiar scents of our childhood holidays.

Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated in October, and while it's similar--grocery store shelves brim with ingredients for cookies and pies, hams and turkeys--it's not the weighty holiday it is in the States. It's a brief pause in the week to enjoy one's families, but it's back to work on Friday, turkey sandwiches in hand.

We just couldn't bring ourselves to celebrate the harvest season before Halloween even rolled around. It was too much of a reminder that home was far away.

We made up for our missed holiday, though, with a belated celebration of gathered expatriates. While it wasn't quite the same spending Thanksgiving with coworkers we've barely gotten to know, I think we were all grateful for a slice of home in the form of green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and cranberry relish.