As I’ve mentioned many many times before, Thanksgiving is one of my absolute favorite holidays. It represents the things I care most about: family, food and football. And despite its dubious origins, it brings people together, something that seems especially important right now.
I’m not a “feelings” person by any stretch of the imagination — in fact, some might say that I’m a robot (or that I’ve been watching too much Westworld). But I’ve been feeling all sorts of things over the past few weeks: stress, fear, anger, sadness, anxiety, with a little bit of joy thrown in, thanks to Harry Potter TV marathons seeing my family last weekend and hosting my friends on Sunday. I’m sure many of you have felt similar things recently, because life.
In the middle of this whirlwind of emotion, it’s really nice to take a day to feel something new: grateful. Feel grateful for your family, who love you regardless of whatever you serve tomorrow. Feel grateful for your friends, who always find ways to keep you going and, most importantly, keep you laughing. Feel grateful that you’re here, and you’re resilient, and this too shall pass.
The holidays are always stressful. It’s just impossible to do everything you need to do and everything you want to do while also hitting up the many holiday parties and events on your calendar. Taking a few minutes, maybe while you sip your morning coffee or right before you go to sleep, to remind yourself of the good things in your life, the things to be truly thankful for, can do wonders to ease that tension a tiny bit.*
And if all else fails, pour yourself a negroni and call it a night. The sweet-bitter cocktail will ease your worries, at least for the moment, and it requires no effort to make (any cocktail whose instructions are “pour” and “stir” sounds perfect to me). I love it as an aperitif as guests arrive for dinner, since they take zero time to make and you can make them in batches. However you get through the next few days (and weeks!), may it be with a smile and a good stiff drink on the side. Cheers!
*It sounds super cheesy, but on particularly hard days over the past few months, before going to sleep I’ve named three things I’m grateful for that day. Could be as small as getting a seat on a crowded subway or as big as my health, but it was a nice little reminder that things aren’t as terrible as they seem. And it works!
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PinIngredients
- 1 ounce gin
- 1 ounce sweet vermouth
- 1 ounce Campari
- one strip of orange peel (optional)
Instructions
- Stir the gin, sweet vermouth and Campari in an ice-filled tumbler. If you’re a better person than I*, garnish with a strip of orange peel.
Notes
- *I totally forgot to buy an orange. The Negroni is still delicious without it, but the orange reallllly pushes it over the edge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
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