[Just keep swimming]

My mother used to live with us to help take care of our son when he was little. He's 16 now and she finally decided it was time to leave. It's the first time we'll have Thanksgiving without her. We have no plans and I'm not planning on cooking so I'm afraid it will be pretty depressing and we'll miss her good Thanksgiving cooking. How will I keep from overeating from being depressed? Maybe I can plan ahead.

[Little Lulu]

What about spending the day doing something you really like to do - go to a movie, rent some movies, do crafts, read, get outside and go for a walk, spend some time with friends, play a game, etc, etc. I am sure you are sad about not having your mother around so not having a traditional Thanksgiving may be just what you need. Make your plans now and stick with the plan. It will take the pressure off about what to do with your day.

[Standup2me]

I am Canadian, so mine was in October.
We don't celebrate with a big meal, we use the money that it would cost
to buy food for the food bank
I am very thankful for everything that I have, this is how I share it

[GALAXYGAL]

I'm sorry to hear this will be a lonely Holiday season for you without your mom. Maybe you could just go out to dinner for Thanksgiving so you wouldn't have a lot of leftovers. Thanksgiving holiday is also a good time for crafts for making cards, gifts, etc. which make the holidays a bit more special than just spending money on stuff. And creativity will take your mind off some of the loneliness.

[Just keep swimming]

Originally Posted by Little Lulu

What about spending the day doing something you really like to do - go to a movie, rent some movies, do crafts, read, get outside and go for a walk, spend some time with friends, play a game, etc, etc. I am sure you are sad about not having your mother around so not having a traditional Thanksgiving may be just what you need. Make your plans now and stick with the plan. It will take the pressure off about what to do with your day.

Wow, thanks. I love making crafts. Maybe I'll get some of my craft stuff out and enjoy. Maybe I'll play some video games with my son. He loves it when I try, even though I'm terrible. Read and take the dogs for a walk. OK. Those are my plans. Thanks. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Just keep swimming]

Originally Posted by Standup2me

I am Canadian, so mine was in October.
We don't celebrate with a big meal, we use the money that it would cost
to buy food for the food bank
I am very thankful for everything that I have, this is how I share it

My husband and I agree that Canadians are so cool. Every Canadian we have ever met has been really nice. I plan on spending some time tomorrow thinking about others who need help and think about what I can do to help during this season. Even if it's something small, just thinking about others will help me out a lot and make me feel good. (I always feel guilty about not doing more to help others so I'm trying to give myself a break and not insist that it be something perfect.)

[Just keep swimming]

Originally Posted by GALAXYGAL

I'm sorry to hear this will be a lonely Holiday season for you without your mom. Maybe you could just go out to dinner for Thanksgiving so you wouldn't have a lot of leftovers. Thanksgiving holiday is also a good time for crafts for making cards, gifts, etc. which make the holidays a bit more special than just spending money on stuff. And creativity will take your mind off some of the loneliness.

Thanks so much for the ideas. I like the idea of making cards. It will also help me be less lonely if I'm thinking about the people that I'll give them to. I went to the store today and got some easy to prepare things from the super market. Early tomorrow I'm going to go back and get some of the healthy foods that really make it easy for me to eat well (i.e. salad makings, good dairy stuff, fruit). I've gotten so many ideas that I'm feeling pretty good about tomorrow. Thanks for the support.