Boots at the Door

After the Thanksgiving festivities were over and everyone left we found a pair of brand new boots at our door.

They were intentionally left there.

Why would anyone leave a brand new pair of boots at our door?

No, this is not the title of the latest country western song. In fact, it is an interesting question. And, to answer that question we need to begin with the power of a meal. In this case, the Thanksgiving meal. A very powerful meal indeed…

The Thanksgiving Meal

The act of gathering around a table, laden with nourishing food in which everyone helped contribute, is nothing short of magical. I often speak of complete human nourishment and this is exactly what I am talking about. 

During the holiday season when most health influencers are lamenting the “Thanksgiving Meal” and providing hacks for navigating the horrors of carbohydrates and refined sugars I would like to take this opportunity to do something different. I want to talk about what makes it special and celebrate it.

No, it is never a good idea to go into any situation and completely let down the guard that allows you to set goals and maintain boundaries. Especially when it comes to your health. But, as my dear friend Mindy Pelz told me, deciding to give in to hedonistic urges and collapse into pure gluttony in order to enjoy a “cheat” meal is a completely different thing from fully embracing and enjoying a “feast” meal and all that it has to offer.

A cheat meal is the product of a defeatist mindset. A cheat meal provides permission to eat with wanton abandon and leaves you not only with a gut full of too much food but also feelings of guilt and regret. That is devastating to all aspects of your health.

A feast meal on the other hand, is an act of filling your own bucket and satisfying all of our needs as humans. This means our nutritional, emotional, cultural, and, for some of us, even our religious needs. This scenario provides complete nourishment. Does it sometimes come with a little too many calories? Sure, but it is worth every bite if we can attain that level of nourishment.

Here are some of the highlights of our Thanksgiving this year which helped to nourish all of us!

All of our family was here – parents, siblings and siblings’ families, Sebastian, our intern from Oaxaca; Brandon, our former baker; and of course, our dear friend Jason O’Brien from Ireland. 

Everyone brought something special to share:

• My Mom and Dad brought their infamous creamed onions. 
• Christina’s Mom brought several dishes including her delicious pineapple stuffing. 
• Brandon brought an overflowing bushel of fresh oysters from right off the boat. 
• Heather and Larry brought their annual macaroni and cheese. 
• Michael and Lauren brought wine and cheese and cured meats. 
• Sebastian made an Oaxacan inspired cocktail (which included local apple cider and mescal!). 
• Jason shot a deer three days earlier and made a smoked sausage from it! 

Every item brought was unique in its own special way and drenched in memories and meaning.

The infamous bread oven

We used the wood fired oven for the ENTIRE Thanksgiving dinner. As per usual, we preheated the oven the night before by doing a pizza extravaganza. The next morning I woke at 4:00 am to light another fire to get the oven back up to temperature. After reaching about 700 degrees, I raked out the fire and let it cool to about 400 degrees 

Our table

The day was spent cooking, visiting, talking, laughing, sharing, and, of course, eating and drinking. In short, it was nourishing in every sense of the word.

At our table everyone was equal. Everyone was special. The lines between family and friends were blurred. The act of sharing food in a meaningful way carries with it a multitude of advantages – biological and social.

That brings me back to the original question… why on earth would anyone intentionally leave a brand new pair of boots – too large to fit anyone in our family – at our front door? 

Why leave boots??

I first learned of this custom at Jason’s cottage on the northwest coast of Ireland. It is a truly magical place and everyone who has ever visited asks the same question when they leave, “when can we return?” Jason’s response is to tell them to leave a pair of boots near his door so that they will be there when they return. This small, but meaningful gesture serves two purposes.

First, it comforts the departing visitor with an invitation and possibility of returning.

Second, it conveys to the host a sense of gratitude and recognition for what they have created in their space. I don’t know if it is a widespread custom or not, but it should be. Because it is a tradition that indicates the intention of returning. 

Finding Jason’s boots at our door after he left was the ultimate compliment and a reminder that all of the work to create a nourishing Thanksgiving meal was worth it.