The very best Thanksgiving memories I have are when I volunteered at a small animal shelter near me..maybe 10 cats and a few dogs, but when I walked in the door the wagging tails and purrs enveloped me with more love all at once than I have ever felt from humans!! I did that for years, now it's just my cat and I and I'm ok with that! Hugs to all!

Thank you Muji for bringing this thread up because there are some of us who do not have anyone to spend with over the holidays, and it is so good for us to know that we have a place we can go, here on DS.

This will be my second year with no family at all. I lost most my family when I decided to ditch my dad. My brother I've seem to have lost now, so DS is my family. I spent the last two years here with people, and it'll continue to be my tradition, spending the holidays with my DS family:-)

...I just baked a turkey casserole and put it on my photos here, before I even read this. I wrote for a description come on over to Gizzy's!! LOL.

Oh yes I forgot to mention candles will be lit up, along with some Christmas Caroling music and a whole lot of Christmas animation goin on in my living room lol.
I don't drink, so that won't be happening. I use to feel that disconnected feeling also, but last year I was glad to be free for once from my toxic family, and I enjoyed the holidays as best as I could. So I think it will be okay from now on to be alone. I wish I had a kitty, but I'll be hangin' out with my fur-sister, Leo, and she's a kitty cat so... :D

I won't be on my own, it will only be me, my youngest brother and my mom. We are suppose to have a few quests over for lunch but still things is not very happy at times. Example my mom was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 but turned out it's not cancer it is an auto immune disorder. After she was told this, our Christmases had been pretty crappy. Like I said I love Christmas and really went out for it but still it seems painful. Why? because I'm trying so much enjoy thanksgiving and Christmas. We can go to the store and get a few things that we don't have. We don't have much money but we are trying the best we can.

I can understand you mujic. Because of the family problems, it'll make you want to be alone, although that is not what I really want but it's better than hurting.

I don't miss the old T-givings at all. It was the *worst* holiday. My Polish fam went to the big church thing, which left us stuck going to my dad's toxic fam, and then home to have my dad and sis dominate the day with their bad moods. Ugh!

Compared to that? A quiet day with me, my laptop and some DVDs? much more relaxing!

I will miss my cat this year, soooo much. But it'll be okay, I hope. (I think?)

Gizzy & I will provide the purrs for those whose fur-friends aren't available:-)

That's right sister, come one come all. We all here seem like a family in one way or another, because we share such detailed *stuff* with each other. Well, I am glad that you all are my family. :D

...and thanks Leo, sister, you just reminded me why I hated all of those (supposed to be happy) holidays with my dad. Oh yes, moody....yep. I remember it well, but I do need to be reminded of why I cannot be with him anymore, and he is completely out of my life as of last February.

Well, it looks like we'll be checking in with each other here on Thanksgiving. That's something to look forward to, for me. :-)

Can't let Turkey Day be a turkey, can we? ;-P Oh, she so punny, she crack no one up... *sigh*

I'll be checking in, that's for sure. :-)

I just want to add thank you for starting this thread it will be my first thanksgiving without extended family. However it will be with my hubby and kids all hunkered down for a good meal and football. This thread made me feel much better about doing it alone and knowing there are others in similar boats and I can still make the most of it and enjoy it for myself. Thanks.

It's the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday for me, since I usually traveled on Wednesday to arrive for the meal by Thursday. I'm realizing that by habit I'm mentally bracing myself for the ordeal of family holiday time, even though I'm free of it and not going to be with family this year.

I'm a highly competent person at my job teaching at the college, but when I arrived at my family's home the humiliation and ridicule would begin. After a warm up with that kind of hostility, attacks on my friends and my beliefs would follow. Eventually, that would build to a rant, and finally I would be hit at some point. Followed by the cooling down period, the analysis by the participating bystanders of what I'd done wrong to provoke getting hit. Then the goodbye until this family opera of abuse was performed again at Christmas. Helluva holiday ritual.

All the while I didn't answer the mockery, the rant, the attacks, or hit back. It didn't matter. The script was the script.

I find myself having internalized that script somewhat as, in spite of the fact that I'm not subjecting myself to that again, I find myself cringing in preparation. The pre-holiday cringe, like when a whipped dog anticipates getting hit again. So sad what evil families can do to a person when there's such an opportunity to do so much good. Glad I'll be here on Thanksgiving instead of waiting at my family's table to be hit again.