Thanksgiving dinner has come and gone and I am still full, waiting for an empty moment to dive into the pumpkin pie.

This year, instead of preparing matching macro stuffings, pies, and sides to accompany the family's usual fare, my 6-month-old and 6-year-old prompted me to prepare not a thing and just enjoy the luscious food prepared with love by my family.

I usually leap at the macrobiotic and culinary challenges of re-creating dishes of the past and know I will again, but for the first time in quite a few years, I felt like a kid again, relishing the flavors that appear on the dinner table only once a year. Refreshed, not exhausted from days of chopping, sauteing, and baking.

There is something to be said for 'being a kid again' when the holidays roll around, in whatever way you can, from a little over-indulgence to an afternoon romp around the ranch.

So while next year might find me further refining my macro stuffing, I give thanks that this year I took a stroll with my son and climbed hay bales with my daughter (but I still enjoyed my mom's macro sweet potatoes the best!)