Invest time with family, friends during Thanksgiving

It’s holiday time, and there’s much to be done. The most organized among us are already sitting back with a satisfied smile, having finished the shopping, the menu planning and, admirably, some of the decorating, too.

Most of us, however, are just feeling the pinch of holiday urgency. We’re hurrying about, collecting wish lists, taking those first intimidating steps into the shopping malls, agonizing over turkey or ham, and crossing our fingers that family tensions will be soothed enough by eggnog and sparkling lights to be forgotten for a day or two.

Such determined investments in time and energy should result in the perfect Christmas.

Well, good luck.

The truth is, despite our most fervent efforts, not many of us will successfully pull off a Rockwellian holiday. Chances are high that you’ll run short of cash before you run short of wishes, get knocked to the ground reaching for Guitar Hero on Black Friday, and nothing you give will be the right size or color.

Your sister-in-law will announce intentions to prepare the family’s first deep-fried Christmas goose, and, unbeknownst to you, your teenage son will give everyone a peek of his latest body piercings in the midst of family dinner (gasps silenced only by mouthfuls of chewy, over-cooked goose).

Here’s the deal: There are just too many unknowns. It might be the holidays, but no matter how we romanticize them, this is life, after all. And it is unpredictable, often uncontrollable even. In our striving for perfection, all the little things invariably get magnified. It’s usually in retrospect that we realize our intentions failed.

But here’s something everyone, organized or not, can count on — the huge returns that come from investing unhurried quality time in ourselves and our families. Before you pencil in another shopping excursion, make definite plans for you and your loved ones to attend at least one of several holiday events designed to put the magic back into Christmas.

If you’re not sure what’s happening in the Pee Dee during the holidays, we’ll have some suggestions for you in our Pee Dee Living section on Thanksgiving Day, and a full holiday events listing is already running in 8 Days a Week each Friday. You also can visit our Web site, www.scnow.com, for more ideas.

From musical programs to tree lightings to parades to live nativities, there’s so much happening in the region that you’re practically ensured of finding something that fits the schedules and tastes of your entire family.

That Guitar Hero might bring a smile to the face of your teenage son, but time spent together taking in the more meaningful joys of the holidays will put a smile in his heart and yours, too.
It might even make fried goose — and piercings — a bit more palatable.