Autumn arrived a few weeks ago. It is my favorite time of the year. The first official day of Fall was on Rosh Hashana, kind of fitting , and it added a hint of flavor to the High Holiday season for me. 
The weather around here has been unseasonably warm and not very Fall like. 
As the Jewish holidays were winding up I turned my attention towards the next part of the harvest season , most importantly Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite secular or non- Jewish holiday.
Over the years ,I have transformed my Turkey Day offering from a meal to a banquet and eventually into an absolute feast.
I can honestly say that in my humble opinion, my table ranks with the best of them.
However, nothing remains the same in life.
Demands on people's time, family dynamics and changes in relationships, both additions and subtractions, led me to propose a change in how we , The Spiegels , would celebrate Thanksgiving moving forward.
The addition of significant others in my daughter's lives.my in-laws deteriorating health and mobility and some other very real factors, seemed to point to a need for change.
My initial thoughts were to cut back. We would do away with our traditional Thanksgiving offering.
Forget the whole dinner with a turkey and all of the trimmings. 
Maybe we could do brunch in the a.m., watch the parade and then after our family's tradition of listening to Alice's restaurant at noon,every one would be free to head out and spend time with other family and friends. 
It seemed like a doable compromise.
I also came up with the idea that we could regroup for a late dessert and catch the last of the football games on t.v. together. 
Sounds like a plan!
However, I was still unsettled over this. 
Something felt off.
Although it seemed like a pleasant way to observe the holiday, it just didn't feel right.
As I sat pondering what was starting to become a dilemma for me this morning over a cup of coffee, I just knew something was missing.
I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
When I initially broached these changes with my family, Sara asked "are you sure you are okay with this? I know how much you love going all out for Thanksgiving."
My response was "I really think I am....change is inevitable and a good thing."
Looking back on that I realize I was right, change is inevitable and good.
However, change does not have to mean diminishing!
If I know anything about myself is that when it comes to parties, celebrations feasts and festivals, I have only one agenda.
Go big or go home!
The plan of scrapping the holiday meal and substituting brunch and dessert just ain't gonna cut it for me.
Instead,my new plan is to blow this suckah up!
We can do brunch.
We can even do dessert.
They will be the perfect bookends to wrap around the mid day banquet I would normally put out on Thanksgiving.
There will be some modifications. 
The mid day meal will be buffet style ,not a sit down dinner.
The menu will be slightly different with the changes in the types of foods we and many of our guests choose to eat.
Again this will be a matter of  "in addition to", the standard bill of fare will still be front and center on the table.
The biggest sticking point for me had been my in-laws. 
Shuttered away in their assisted living facility.I was concerned for their well being. I was concerned that they would be alone, left out and not part of our day of giving thanks.
I was also concerned for Susan,after all they are her parents.
Logistically, I could not figure it out.
That was until this morning.
The answer to my quandary was actually quite simple.
 Some one had to man up and step up to make sure that they were cared for.
And there is no one better than me at doing that.
So now I have a game plan. I am actually quite excited over the possibility.
Tonight I will run it by Susan and the rest of the Flock of Spiegels .
I am confident that they will support me in this. They will think I am nuts, however they have grown to understand that my kind of crazy is a good thing and that once I opt in there is never any doubt as to the outcome.
So now as Autumn has finally decided to start feeling like Autumn, I have a plan and a course of action. 
I'm kind of lovin' life right about now!
Shabbat Shalom!