Happy Thanksgiving!

From our vantage point at the parade

This is it. My favorite holiday of the year.  Although most people go home to their families for the weekend, or simply for the day, my family journeys to me in the city because I start performing the Nutcracker on the following day. Ever since I joined NYCB (about four years ago), they have come to visit on Thanksgiving weekend – to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade along the curbs of Central Park West, to cook a hearty meal in my tiny kitchen, and to spend time together. It has become a Kretzschmar family tradition that we look forward to each year, and I believe the city of New York is at least partly responsible for our love of this tradition.  Because we’re in New York, we not only get to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but also be in it.  Yes it’s usually very cold and windy, but the city scenery is cheerful; the streets are sprinkled with fall leaves, decorated with twinkling lights, and filled with Christmas tunes wherever we go.  

Family (minus brother) cooking in
my kitchen

If we feel like dealing with the crowds, we’ll stroll to Rockefeller Center during the afternoon to see the majestic Christmas tree glimmering above the ice skating rink.  And after eating a glorious meal prepared by my mom and sister, we often watch Elf and point out the various places the main character, Buddy, travels to in the city. (We can literally quote every line and point out every musical cue in this movie since we have seen it too many times).  Although it is not the home I grew up in, New York City feels like home, and Thanksgiving feels complete with my family present.  Someday I’d like to experience this holiday again in North Carolina, with my mom’s big kitchen and the beautiful forested landscape to gaze out at while we cook.  But for now, I couldn’t be more thankful for this special city tradition that I get to share with my family.