A round-about story: we wound up with a free 12lb turkey after a trip to the discount grocery store the week before Thanksgiving. On the drive home, I started to strategize a way to play Tetris with the items already in my freezer, but also with the addition of, well, a turkey. (I now know why so many neighbors have second refrigerators in their garages.)

The other concern was, when would I find the time to cook a 12lb turkey? When would I see my family, the only likely candidates to share said turkey, again? Would I really just roast the turkey off, cut it into parts, and mise it out into portions for the freezer again? To defrost as I go for — the next 12 months?

Then, as we pulled up into the driveway, I remembered something.. somebody in one of the local Buy Nothing groups posted a call out for food since she mentioned not having enough to feed her family.

I immediately got in touch with poster, and we set up a COVID-safe drop off. Somehow, when you crack into that reminder of what you have versus what you don’t have, the floodgates of giving feel fluid.

With that realization, suddenly, the 12lb turkey didn’t feel like enough. I started hunting through my cabinets and fridge for other items I could give – like the apple cider and apple pie I had intended to bring to my family should a Thanksgiving gathering have taken place.

In the end, having enough abundance – and privilege – to even admit you have a free 12lb turkey means you have more than enough.

Besides, who needs a turkey when you can carve a melon?