Thanksgiving- the dog's eye view

What is this? This morning, Mom wakes me up entirely too early, gives me a quick cuddle- much too quick, if you ask me- lets me out to do my business in the yard, then immediately goes to the kitchen to begin making homemade bread for some kind of human dinner. She says it's Thanksgiving, but I'm not sure I should be thankful for it. This cooking process is simply agony for me, as Mom can't even give me a quick pet on the head because of the fact that she's cooking. It must qualify as some form of abuse.

Hours of this singular agony pass while Mom prepares the rolls- mixing and kneading and letting them raise, then forming them into the proper shape, and finally baking them- while I have nothing to do but wait. Then, without so much as a by your leave from me, she begins working on the gigantic bird that I saw her bring in a week ago. She forces me to stay away, but he is just SO tempting! I want a piece of that right now and Mom just does not understand how hard it is to behave myself in the face of such temptation. I sulk miserably on the couch until she completes her work, loving brown eyes always watching for an opening and a willing hand to give me my long overdue attention.

At long last, the parade is on TV and the turkey is cooking in the oven, so Mom finally has a little time to pay some attention to me-and I'm always ready for that. We sit down for a few quiet minutes, then some silly bell goes off and Mom has to get up and check on some other aspect of this infernally big dinner she's preparing. The house smells more than wonderful- with the thick aroma of roasting meat mingling with the leftover homey scent of baking bread- but I have been strictly warned not to even try to eat any of the goodies that I know are being prepared until after the humans have eaten, so I keep my distance. Oh the misery! The entire morning goes on like this- never quite settling down. And what's even worse- Mom's been cleaning for a week to get the house ready for company, so any toys that I get out are immediately returned to my toy box.

Seemingly an eternity later, that infernal bell rings again, and Mom removes the big bird from the oven. Oh, it smells so divine- but she isn't sharing even a bite. The bird sits alone on top of the counter, waiting to be carved before the big dinner and seemingly begging me for help. I know it's just a temptation, and I wisely remove myself from it's grasp.

After all of this, the doorbell rings, so I run to the door jubilantly to see who has come to see me- it's my grandparents! Surely they will give me the attention that is my birthright! But wait- their hands are loaded down with food as well! This cannot be! I know Mom has fixed enough food for a small army on her own- why must they do this? The door bell keeps ringing, and several more guests arrive- all bearing more food. I know that they will all be rolling around like beach balls if they eat all of this- and here I am, starving for lack of turkey and attention. Silly humans.

Finally, the guests are all here and have unloaded their burdens in the kitchen, and onto the table. At least their arrival has allowed me some entertainment- the scent of their dogs is all over them, and I enjoy sniffing their clothes for that scent. When the humans settle down at the dinner table, which is laden unconscionably with food that they all know they will never finish, I lay down at Mom's feet and wait. The day has been a complete loss so far- I am sure nothing new is forthcoming. While the humans say their prayer of thanks, I cross my paws and pray as well- that this silly holiday will soon be over, so I can get back to my normally scheduled walks and cuddle time.

As they mow their way through the piles of wonderful food- tangy cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, delicious corn, creamy mashed potatoes, yummy pumpkin and apple pies, and of course that succulent turkey thing- I can only wait and watch. Suddenly, it happens. Mom does it first, as I knew she would. She motions for me to look at her, and then drops a good sized piece of turkey to the floor- just for me! Oh, it is heaven! Juicy and delicious, just as turkey should be- and with just a tiny hint of cranberry sauce to add to it's allure. And this miracle of the dropping turkey just keeps happening! Mom does most of the sharing, but the others give me my share as well, and soon I am happy and well fed. This Thanksgiving thing might be better than I thought!

Finally, the seemingly undending chaos of cleaning up, separating leftovers into packages for the guests to take home and the departing of the various guests is over and Mom settles down with me in front of the TV. This is what I've waited for all day! There is a great football game on the screen, but Mom isn't paying much attention to it. She is petting me, as I deserve after being such a good dog all day!

After a walk in the brisk evening, to top it all off, Mom puts some gravy over my kibble! Oh, that is SO good! Thanksgiving may be tough, but the payoff is so worth it!!!