Drinksgiving?!?

When you’re in your 20’s there are a lot of new Holidays that arise due to coming home for the Holidays. When I was in my relationship I never really went out to bars or clubs. It wasn’t something we did, we weren’t huge crowd people and it didn’t seem like a whole lot of fun. But being single? That changes everything. I may not like crowds or the noise, but it gives you a reason to immerse yourself with others and just be. Over the Thanksgiving week I had heard it get called a few names, Wild Turkey Wednesday and even Drinksgiving. I had no idea that the day before Thanksgiving was one of the more popular drinking Holidays of the year. Who would’ve thought?

I was finishing up a late shift at work when my one friend texted me begging me to come out. It was going to be him, me and his other friend that was to be our D.D. I’m not going to lie I was pretty apprehensive. I’d never gone out with this friend drinking before, nor did I realistically have the energy. I really wanted to go home and snuggle under my covers watching Christmas movies and eating popcorn. But.. I knew I would regret doing this once I turned down the opportunity. I’m learning that every opportunity thrown into my path is an adventure I need to take. I wanted to see how the other people in their 20s did Drinksgiving and what made it so special and crazy. I was off the next day for Thanksgiving and didn’t have to be anywhere till later in the afternoon, allowing myself plenty of time to bake the apple pies and make the cheesecake I needed for the family meals. I texted him back with an enthusiastic yes and asking for two hours to run home and change, trying to look semi presentable.

Once I got home, I let out my pup and started tweaking my appearance for the night life versus the work attire I was in. I left my skinny jeans on, threw on a flannel with a gray ribbed tank top crop top and a pair of boots. I touched up the pre-existing makeup I had on and darkened my eyes for a more sultry appearance. My hair is pin straight and very thick, there was no time to really curl it let alone do anything but run a brush through it. I took one final glance at my appearance and ran back out the door. Thankful my friend lives five minutes away I made it to his house in record time, about 10:30.

Our destination choices included going to the downtown area that consisted of college bars or going to a local bar that the majority of the people we knew went. The local bar was a lot closer and more familiar to us all so I voted that it was the safest bet and if we didn’t like it we could leave. The only thing that made my heart twinge slightly was this was where Mr. Rogers and I had our first date. I’m not going to lie, I missed him… A LOT. We had a lot of fun together, I enjoyed his company immensely and he just had a calming effect on me. He would randomly text me throughout the weeks to say he missed me or check-in, but we hadn’t hung out again. I told him I was going out and apologized in advance for any drunk text messages that might come his way. He said to bring it on, he was intrigued… I could only imagine how my night was going to go. Like I said I wasn’t much of a drinker, I don’t go out and get drunk, I don’t lose control and I definitely don’t drink enough to the point where I drunk text. But this was a new adventure and I just wanted a night to just be.

We got to the bar and realized they were funneling people in from the back patio, they had put up makeshift walls to allow more people outside and added various heating elements to ensure we wouldn’t turn into popsicles. There were two bars when we walked in one inside the actual building and one outside, that only took cash and had no water!! Needless to say this is where it got interesting. The bar was at max capacity, we were told if we left we would have to wait in line for someone else to leave. A max capacity bar was not something I’d ever experienced, especially in our little towns we grew up in. But I also never went out on drinking Holidays. Max capacity meant I was always rubbing against someone. You had to hold on to your friends to even get through the thrall of people. It felt like quick sand but with bodies. I can honestly say I’d never rubbed up accidentally on so many people in my entire life.

Here’s where it gets dicey, the amount of alcohol I consumed with lack of water and having only really eaten sushi for lunch around three was not a great combination. When we got to the bar my friend and I did a double of Crown Apple, we made our way to the inside bar to chug a Long Island (gross!!! I am by no means a tea drinker, but apparently this was his ritual) I was talking to our DD and he was telling me my friend usually goes hard when it comes to alcohol. My idiot self kept asking how on earth did I fall down this rabbit hole? If you can’t beat them, join them. So I did. I then had a beer placed in my hand from another friend, and then another beer. Upon waiting for my crown and coke a girl was carrying four shots and could not make her way through the crowd of people. She stopped at the table the DD and I were standing at, more like hiding behind, and slid the shots across to us. Pounded the table and shot her drink. He looked at me saying I think she wants us to do shots with her, so we did. It was a double of some kind, I honestly couldn’t tell you what. Then I had my crown and coke, followed up with another double of Crown Apple, Long Island two more beers and an Angry Orchard. Needless to say I was kinda sick around 2 am, poor Perkins parking lot. I’ll save you the not so fun details of sitting in a car in a parking lot alone while everyone went inside to eat. I was just too tired and sick and needed some quiet.

Throughout the evening I did drunk text Mr. Rogers telling him I missed him and I couldn’t stop thinking about that first date we had. He would respond with the same I miss yous and then finally fell to sleep. I would send more texts with about the same content, telling him I wished we had wanted the same things. It took me a bit to ensure the texts sounded right and were not spelled incorrectly, no matter how drunk I am I will not text like an idiot. I ran into a girl from my highschool class and we said our hellos and how are yous? Hers was followed up with a “did you get married yet?” I won’t lie it stung a bit and my friend wasn’t within ear shot to come rescue me, since he also graduated with us both. I told her he had left me and her face just fell. She told me she didn’t even know what to say, I said it’s ok. You don’t have to say anything, life happens and we all deserve our own happiness. He needed to find his, I wasn’t going to take that from him. I told her all you can do is move on and embrace life. She looked at me and said hence the coming out here? I said of course why not embrace it? My friend finally came over and did his normal greeting. While they caught up I realized the guy she was with was someone I had a few college courses with, and he always had my attention. He couldn’t place me, but knew we had class together. After that we all parted ways and I turned to my friend to fill him in on the conversation I just had. He felt bad and went to find me more alcohol. Throughout the night I would bump into college guy a few more times, with one time him finally remembering who I was and even as far as what car I drove. We always parked in the same lot since we had the majority of our courses in the same building. Needless to say I found him on Instagram the next day and we followed each other, sad to say it took me forever to remember his name, college was at least two years ago.

I think the worst part of the night was the nightmare of the girls bathroom. Toilets clogged, broken beer bottles and blood in various places, and the line longer than the one to even get into the bar. Needless to say a lot of us girls contemplated on taking over the mens restroom or even going outside to pee. I learned real quick one does not hold their pee until they are dying to go, or you’ll end up with wet pants.

Throughout the remainder of the night I realized I was overdressed and took off my flannel to show my crop top and tat. We had a few more drinks and decided around one it was best to leave. I didn’t really talk to anyone outside my friends that night, which confused me. Wasn’t the whole point of going out to a bar was to meet new people? To join in on various conversations and such? But everyone was rather grouped up and it was safest if I stayed with my crew.

After Perkins they dropped me off at home with promises to come get me in the morning and bring me back to my car. I fell into my bed with spinning thoughts and memories of the various people I encountered as well as the drunk texts that were sent. I woke up around 8 and started getting everything ready for baking. My friend came and got me to take me to my car and then I was back home. I baked all morning and got ready to leave in the afternoon to go to my friends family farm for the first Thanksgiving of the day, dog in tow.

I went back through my phone apologizing to Mr. Rogers for being an idiot and being all sappy. Him responding with I shouldn’t apologize, that I hadn’t said something he didn’t already know and how did I not think he felt the same? Needless to say I was left with more confusion and hurt than ever before.

Readers I’m sure this is not the last of Mr.Rogers and as I loaded my pup and the pies into my car I realized this was my first Thanksgiving single, and yet I was not alone.

Happy Holidays

Kat