Tales From Harry: My Thanksgiving Wish

Katherine Au

(Nov, 2010) I get excited each year for the holiday season. I think it’s great. My pet seems to start to show signs of stress – planning for visits with family for Thanksgiving, getting holiday cards out (which she rarely does), and then searching for the perfect gifts she intends to give that are personalized for each recipient. Me—well, I find that as the leaves change colors and the air drops in humidity and the temperatures start to fall, I start to get excited for November because November means Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving means I get people food.

Each Thanksgiving my pet and her family make a big spread of food including cranberry relish, creamed corn, fried okra, green beans, oyster casserole, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, sage stuffing, gravy, and, of course, turkey. Lots of turkey, which is my favorite part, and the food I beg for the most.

When November 1st rolls around, I start salivating for the last Thursday of the month because I know that means I will have a bowl of turkey scraps mixed in with my food, and if I’m lucky I’ll have some gravy too. Now, for most of you, getting turkey may mean nothing since if you are human you can just go to your local supermarket to get turkey. I only get it at Thanksgiving.

Why do I choose to tell you about my expected turkey treat for this year? It’s not about the fact that my pet refuses to give me human food on a daily basis and only chooses to do so Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. No, it’s not about that, although I do wish someone would change her mind about that rule she has. It’s not about the fact that I am actually able to beg most of the day on Thanksgiving for bits of scraps throughout the dinner at the dinner table (unheard of on a daily basis). It’s not that I get to stay in the kitchen throughout the entire cooking process and be in the way of all my human’s footsteps without being told to leave the kitchen on Thanksgiving. Why I choose to tell you about this Thanksgiving is that I’m worried it won’t be as wonderful as all the year’s past for this year I think I might just have to share my turkey treat.

Don’t get me wrong. I still am excited to watch the turkey cook. I plan to lay in front of the oven most of the day while it is cooking when I’m not touring around the house making sure my pet and her family are where they are supposed to be in the house. I feel my stomach growl even now when I think of the turkey that I will get passed to me "secretly" as dinner is eaten. (Although my pet gives me some turkey in my bowl on Thanksgiving and the day after she and her family ‘secretly’ steal some turkey my way during dinner. There are benefits to laying under the table during dinner time). I’m still excited for the leftovers I will get after the dinner and the gravy that I’ll have on my food. What I’m not excited about is that I think I will have to share my smorgasbord of treats with two kittens that my pet has adopted.

Memorial Day weekend my pet decided to rescue two kittens. She left for an appointment at the local rescue and gave me a little warning that she might be bringing me back a couple of new additions to our family. I didn’t quite believe her as I assumed it would just be the two of us forever, but, sure enough, she came home with two kittens. Kalei and Paxton have since become my ‘brother and sister,’ and I have to say that I don’t really like those terms of endearments she

has given them in relation to me.

Why do I write to you about kittens joining our household? Well, I’m worried I won’t have my full turkey treat and that I’ll have to share the spoils of Thanksgiving. My pet is starting to tell me that she and her family will do with less and I’ll still have the same amount, but I don’t quite believe her. I know my pet and her family will eat what they want and then reserve certain amounts for leftovers for her and her family for after the big meal. Then, what is designated as being for me will ultimately be split between me and the two that she keeps referring to as my brother and sister. Meanwhile, the kittens have already started to get excited about the impeding food to come. When my pet leaves for work, they tell me daily they keep hearing about a Thanksgiving feast and they are excited to get some of it. They haven’t even lived through one Thanksgiving, and they are already calling dibs on some of the food! I personally think this is highly unfair.

I know Thanksgiving is all about sharing. It’s all about family. It’s all about sharing with others, especially those less fortunate, but I have to say I’m having a hard time believing in the sharing this year, and I somehow think I’m going to be the less fortunate one in my household this year.

My pet already plays more with them than with me. Every night after dinner Kalei insists on playing with a silly golden fish tied to a string. If my pet is busy typing on the computer Kalei doesn’t rest until she stops and plays with her. She keeps batting at my pet and meowing at her until she relents and plays. If I were to keep up such antics she would tell me to go lie down. Now, to be fair, she does toss my tennis balls in the house and throws whatever stuffed animal I bring her way; but, even then Paxton gets in on the game and runs after me chasing the toys, so it just doesn’t seem as much fun.

The simple fact is that Thanksgiving is sacred to me. I get people food. And people food is the best food on the planet. And, now, all of a sudden I might have to share my spoils of Thanksgiving! I keep telling Kalei and Paxton that people food isn’t very good and they won’t like it. (Yes, I know this is a lie, but it is one I am willing to tell to try to keep my amount of Thanksgiving food the same in my bowl). But, I get the sneaking suspicion they aren’t buying my tall tale. Besides, my pet has already started talking to us all about how the holiday season is approaching and how we will get special treats soon.

So, for this holiday season, especially the one where the turkey is given out, my special wish is to get all my usual treats and that my brother and sister get very little. I will share a bit, since I do even sort of like them, but I’m hoping my sharing is kept to a minimum and my pet remembers what a good dog I’ve been over the last thirteen years and that my brother and sister are just wee things who haven’t been a part of our family very long at all.