
Laura Summerhays
LAURA SUMMERHAYS {[email protected]} lives in Washington, D.C., with her two cats, Isis and Mr. Bob Burkett, and works as an executive assistant at a consulting firm. She graduated from Brigham Young University in English with minors in media arts studies and German and also earned an M.A. in international affairs from the New School.
Thanksgiving Turkeys, Paradox, and Godhood
Articles/Essays – Volume 42, No. 3
On Thursday, I hosted my first Thanksgiving dinner. My brother, my sister-in-law, and my four nephews—ages twelve, nine, seven, and twenty-two months—squeezed into the little studio that I share with two cats; and we sat around my table and ate some traditional holiday fare. I had made most of the meal, but my sister-in-law brought the turkey to cook at my apartment. My brother and sister-in-law are a bit chaotic. Because I know this about them and know how much chaos is compounded when four children are involved, I knew not to believe my sister-in-law when she told me that they would arrive at my apartment at 6:00 or 7:00 A.M. to start cooking the turkey. I just went on with my cooking and finished everything I was making before they arrived about four hours late. Since they were expected at a friend’s cabin that night, we had to flash-cook the turkey so they could eat dinner and leave before it got too late.
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