Every Thanksgiving Is Different

Yesterday marked the first Thanksgiving we've spent in Ohio since 2006, and the first under our own roof since 2008. It was lovely spending the holiday with family -- this year, with Paul's -- but even when we were away from home we made sure to do something special to mark the occasion. Often that meant vacation.

Often, but not always. Here's how we spent Thanksgiving in the New York years.

2012: Hospital. Edith was born shortly before noon the day before, and I barely left the bed. We watched part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV in my hospital room. By far the most exciting Thanksgiving we've ever had!

2011: Boston. We left Brooklyn on Thanksgiving morning and walked around Cambridge before checking into our hotel and eating a Malaysian meal for our Thanksgiving supper.

2010: Argentina & Uruguay. We spent Thanksgiving week in Buenos Aires and got tickets this day to cross the Rio de la Plata to Colonia, Uruguay, a quaint town just a short boat ride away and a perfect day trip. It's the only Thanksgiving I've spent in two countries. No turkey on this Thanksgiving either: We had dinner at a Peruvian restaurant.

2009: Japan. The morning was spent in Tokyo, followed by a bullet train ride to Kyoto. In the city, we visited Fushimi Inari-taisya Shrine, climbed hundreds of steps up and through the famous orange gates and watched the sun set below some hills beyond Kyoto. That night we ate eel and rice in Gion.

2008: Brooklyn. We stayed in the entire holiday, but the night before we went to the Upper West Side to see the inflated balloons ready for the next day's parade. Cold and crowded. Not as much fun as the parade itself, but I'm glad we saw it.

2007: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! We had moved to New York just the month before, and I hesitated about whether to go to the parade. I'd wanted to see it in person since I was small, but the practical side of me said it would be too cold and crowded. We went anyway and were rewarded with temperatures in the 60s. It was a terrific experience, and one I'll never forget. After the parade I remember how happy I was that I lived in such a great city.

What will the next Thanksgivings bring? Who knows? But they have a lot to live up to.