Jamie Garrett Can’t Help Himself – We’re Still Weeks From Thanksgiving, But Jamie Couldn’t Wait

I remember doing this since I was just a wee lad.  From my first Thanksgiving out on my own, I got so excited about Thanksgiving dinner that I bought the complete meal two weeks before Thanksgiving, thus beginning a (sad) tradition.

Maybe it's because I'm not the best planner and would end up on Thanksgiving with a plate of nachos and popcorn because the stores were closed that I now dive into the Thanksgiving feast a full month away.  Maybe it's because there's nothing about Thanksgiving food that I don't love.  From the turkey prep early in the morning to the cooking of the rolls right before it's time to eat, I love everything about Thanksgiving.

There were a few years early in my adult years (before marriage) that I would cook up a turkey dinner, complete with all the sides, two or even three times in the month leading up to Thanksgiving.  My roomates loved it because they had a roommate with too much food to eat by himself.  There were leftovers for days.

Once I got married a had a child, the actual context of Thanksgiving changed for me.  It became more about actually being thankful for the wonderful things in my life and less about the meal.  What it didn't change was my tendency to cheat a little on the date of my feast.  Most years we go to my wife's parents' house in San Antonio for Thanksgiving.  We'll start off the day with a Turkey Trot and enjoy a great day of food and family before the Black Friday madness takes over and my wife goes shopping after we've all gone to bed.

Yet still, here I am a full month away from Thanksgiving, cooking up a mini-feast that only I truly enjoyed and appreciated.  With my wife in New York last weekend for the marathon, I was left to do the cooking & shopping.  I just couldn't resist the urge to cook up green bean casserole after seeing the display at Walmart in Belton.  My boys didn't share my enthusiasm.  That didn't stop me.

Last Sunday, I cooked up the biggest batch of green bean casserole outside a dining hall and proceeded to tear into it over the course of two days.  Tyler, my oldest, had one helping.  Logan had none.  But this little piggy had all the rest.  I even scooped the untouched remains of Logan's casserole and preserved for a later reheating.  I know, I'm sick.

The problem remains.  We're still three weeks away from Thanksgiving as of today, and I still want the bird, the mashed potatoes, the stuffing.  I'll hold off on the pies and the sweets, but I have a feeling my wife is going to be giving me a look of disgust when I walk through the front door with a bird under one arm and Stovetop under the other.

I surely can't be alone.  Is anyone with me out there?