If there is one thing I’m thankful for, it’s free food.

Here in Abilene, I run a tight ship financially. Bi-monthly visits to United fill my pantry with the basics: bread, milk, eggs, Ramen and Ben & Jerry’s “Americone Dream”. I ration food like a Depression-era family and have slowly begun to embrace leftovers.

It’s not the most glorious (or nutritionally acceptable) life, but I get by.

Then, once every year, Thanksgiving comes along. A festive feast. A cornucopia of cooking.

And most importantly, a free meal that I don’t have to pay for.

For the small price of gas, I can transport myself to the land of milk and honey (my parent’s house) where turkeys are never-ending and bowls of creamed corn are without end. A place where cranberry sauce falls from the sky and Tryptophan is injected directly into the veins. Heaven.

Don’t get me wrong, it is great to see family and friends again. It’s nice to spend time reflecting on all the things I am blessed with. And I absolutely love the break from all this learnin’.

But let’s get real, if you think stuffing my face with ungodly amounts of food is not the point of the weekend, then you’re as crazy as the first person to put marshmallows on sweet potatoes.

It begins on a morning scattered with appetizers. But don’t you dare spoil that appetite. Of all days, this is when you’ll need it most.

Then comes the main course.

Never before have you seen such a grand culinary selection. It’s like a buffet that hasn’t been sitting under heat lamps for hours.

With classes on a break, my schedule is wide open and my mind is relaxed. Responsibility and worry free, I can direct all my focus toward lifting a fork from plate to mouth. Over. And over. And over.

Finally, dessert is the literal cherry on top.

After I conquer my meal, a combination of football and angry mobs/great discounts await.

But at this point, the meal is beginning to settle in and my eyelids, along with the rest of my body, are getting heavier.

And if there is one thing I’m thankful for, it’s naps.