Being in the US for a few years but I barely celebrated Thanksgiving. Last year was my first one, just me and my boyfriend so we had a non-traditional Thanksgiving with Vietnamese Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (Bun Bo Hue), Brownies and Seafood Boil. This year, my second time, I had a chance to celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving with my boyfriend’s family, with turkeys, ham and other delicious food. I was deeply touched and thankful for being loved by him and his family.
We started the Thanksgiving morning with some delicious coffee prepared by his sister-in-law, some hot and iced latte! Then we proceeded to prepare for our Thanksgiving dinner, including stuffing for the turkeys, hams, mashed potatoes, green beans casseroles, and stuffed dates wrapped with bacon, a special recipe from my boyfriend’s sister.
The set up was lovely! The table was actually a ping pong table with fall-color theme table cloth on top. Our seats were assigned, and decorated with a little pumpkin next to our name tags.
And the food? Absolutely amazing! The sister-in-law’s parents brought 02 versions of turkey: traditional turkey and smoked turkey. They also brought “spicy” corn bread casserole and sweet potato casserole. The corn bread casserole was delicious with a kick of heat from jalapeno that made my boyfriend drank a lot of water after trying it. And my first time trying turkey, it was a bit dry and that was why it tasted much better when we added stuffing and gravy sauces on it. I prefer the smoked turkey to the traditional one, as smoked turkey was still moist. And the dates, the ham, the casseroles… all of them contributed to my memorable 2022 Thanksgiving. Yup, it was yummy, to the point for a happy dance after every bite!
Thanksgiving 2022, I am once again thankful that my parents brought me to life and raised me to the person I become today.
I am once again thankful for meeting my boyfriend, a lovely and caring person. You are the vital connection between me and your family.
I am thankful being loved by my his family. The fact that I was included in family’s photos, which never happened before, spoke a lot on how much they adore me.
And for that, I am grateful for everything!