There. I said it.
I am Betsy Skagen, and you see, I find Thanksgiving booooooring. It stems from sitting through years of formal dinners in my childhood, where the mantra was "children should be seen and not heard." Since my closest sibling is six years older than me, these holidays got pretty lonely.
I am Betsy Skagen, and you see, I find Thanksgiving booooooring. It stems from sitting through years of formal dinners in my childhood, where the mantra was "children should be seen and not heard." Since my closest sibling is six years older than me, these holidays got pretty lonely.
I know, I know, we are not exactly talking hardship here. But since I started this sad little tale, I might as well finish explaining why I don't like celebrating the American Thanksgiving.
Admittedly, mine are shallow reasons--nothing so noble as opposing the blatant romanticism of the pilgrim/Native American history. Nope, I don't like Thanksgiving because there is no gift giving to look forward to, Easter baskets to rummage through or fireworks to ooh and ahhh over. What's the point of handwashing all that china when there's no reward at the end?
The biggest cause for my disdain, however, may surprise you. Simply put, Thanksgiving does not offer the same aesthetic appeal that other holidays do. The muted colors and subdued graphics of Thanksgiving cannot compete with Christmas, Valentine's Day, 4th of July and Halloween. Gosh-bollocks, it doesn't even compete with Saint Patrick's Day. And I'm not even Irish.*
To make matters worse, certain people who must remain unnamed (cough-my siblings-cough) are bailing town this year and suddenly the responsibility of hosting Thanksgiving has been thrust upon me. Either I clean, cook, bake and hostess with the mostest, or my 88-year-old mother will have no place to rest her weary bones and enjoy a home-cooked meal.
Yep. Pack your bags Sibs, because I just sent you on a guilt trip.
This leads me to my latest altered art project. When I began making this Artist Trading Spoon, I didn't really have much of a plan in mind. However, with my Thanksgiving frustration, a snarky theme soon emerged.
Thankfully, the rest of the design team members have a greater fondness for Thanksgiving and their beautiful spoons reflect that. I have posted pictures of their work on Paper Calliope's Artist Trading Spoons page.
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| "The End" |
*Or English, for that matter, but I added "bollocks" because writing "gosh" was just too boring.
Cute story Betsy, sorry you endured the boring holidays to tell about it! Humor gets us through it all!
ReplyDeleteA. Your childhood Thanksgivings sound exactly like my own. Believe me, I feel your pain. LOL
ReplyDeleteB. Luckily, our family is so far-spread across the globe now, it is impossible to have a family get-together - so Thanksgiving cards have to suffice - and I couldn't be happier about it.
C. Most importantly, your spoon is just plain beautiful. If one didn't know your stories, it wouldn't be discernible from this piece. I'm (personally) not a fan of altered spoons as a rule - just not my thing. But yours is really a beaut!
Great blog post - and I hope your mother enjoys the Thanksgiving you prepare for her!
Tristan, my mother just called to make sure I had begun defrosting the turkey. I felt a need to remind her that I have been an adult literally for decades.
DeleteYou are so funny Betsy! I love your spoon and when time permits I'll share my thanksgiving story from when I was a wee lass. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the very colorful spoon♥ I liked the story also! Happy Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteYour spoon is beautiful.
ReplyDelete