Thanksgiving in Lubbock always starts with the best intentions. You wake up, throw on your comfiest \u201cI\u2019m totally not wearing real pants today\u201d leggings, and convince yourself this year will be different.<\/p>\n
This year, everyone will behave.<\/p>\n
This year, the food will come out on time.<\/p>\n
This year, the family dog will not eat anything off the counter, for the love of God.<\/p>\n
And then\u2026 the signs start rolling in. One by one. Like little breadcrumbs leading you straight into the woods of chaos.<\/p>\n
First, someone brings up Texas Tech football within ten minutes of walking through the door. Not even a casual mention, either. More like a heated postmortem analysis of every play from the last decade. You can practically hear the emotional support tortillas rustling in the wind. That\u2019s when you know the temperature in the room has officially risen, and not because someone left the oven on.<\/p>\n
Next, Aunt Linda corners a cousin in the kitchen and whispers something that ends with, \u201cBut don\u2019t tell your mama I said that.\u201d If your Thanksgiving has a soundtrack, this is the moment where the ominous music swells. Every Lubbock family has at least one relative who treats the holiday like a covert intelligence mission. The gossip is piping hot, seasoned, and absolutely not USDA-approved.<\/p>\n
Then, the dog makes a move. In every Lubbock home, there\u2019s that one family pet who becomes a food-seeking missile the moment the turkey exits the oven.<\/p>\n
Photo by Annie Spratt<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n One second, it\u2019s on the counter, golden brown and photogenic.<\/p>\n The next second, it\u2019s on the floor, being dragged toward the hallway at Mach 3 while someone yells, \u201cGET HIM! SOMEBODY GET HIM!\u201d<\/p>\n Thanksgiving is, of course, a contact sport.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a child under the age of eight is crying. No one knows why. The kid doesn’t know why. But they\u2019re definitely sticky and holding something they shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n Now Grandpa is asking who touched the thermostat. No one admits to it, which means absolutely everyone did.<\/p>\n