... With my dear father passing away 6 wks ago, it is going to be VERY hard. I just don't feel like cooking or even really celebrating the day ...
I know how you feel, shopgirl61. The holidays, especially those just after the loss of a parent, can be really hard. When my parents were living, Thanksgiving (and Christmas, too) were really BIG holidays. For Thanksgiving, we would always go to my sister-in-law's house (my wife's sister) for Thanksgiving dinner. All of my wife's family would be there. We'd have a huge meal and spend the rest of the day watching the parades and/or ball games on TV. Then on Friday, all of my family would gather at my Dad and Mom's house for a repeat of the entire Thanksgiving dinner. Two HUGE meals on two days.
Now that the children are all grown with their own families and both my folks have now passed away, we go to my in-law's house for a meal on Thanksgiving day. Then on Saturday (as that's usually the best time to get all my children together), we have our own family Thanksgiving meal at the old home place. It feels good to be able to sit at the same table as my great grandparents sat at over 140 years ago and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with my family.
So, shopgirl61, should you find yourself needing a place to celebrate Thanksgiving, you will always be welcomed at our table.