“Have you thought about traveling? I could write you a prescription.” I remember my kiddo’s psychologist saying to me once upon a time. She and my kiddo had just spent an hour discussing anxiety and triggers for said anxiety. Thanksgiving was at the top of the list, right after imminent death from roller coasters.
“I’ve done it before,” kiddo’s doctor continued. “Not for insurance, obviously, but for grant funding or extenuating circumstances with extended family.”
“Holiday travel often compounds the problem,” I argued, citing instances of schlepped casseroles and sue chef responsibilities in other people’s kitchen.
“Oh no. I’m talking about travel in leu of Thanksgiving. Getting out of the country, making memories.” My eyes grew wide. “It’s a great time of year for international travel,” kiddo’s doctor said.
There have been a handful of conversations in my life that I can point to and say, “This changed everything.” This was one of them. I’ve blogged before about how I’m the odd (wo)man out in my household when it comes to neurodiversity. I’m not sure I’ve blogged about how much travel, especially international travel, has helped all of us. My kiddos are confronted daily with all the ways they are the odd (wo)man out when it comes to their peers. Travel has helped them see/understand that they are just as much a part of this big, beautiful, miraculous world as anyone.
That year we took the kiddos to Rome and Florence for the week of Thanksgiving. They were ten and seven. Our Thanksgiving feast was an assortment of takeaway pastas from the restaurant a block away from our apartment. We ate and watched Netflix and talked about the Colosseum and the Pantheon that we’d seen earlier that day.
A global plague made travel for the next Thanksgiving impossible, but eventually we got back out there. Last year we spent the week of Thanksgiving in Tokyo and Kyoto. We had our Thanksgiving Feast at the Kirby Cafe. The Kirby Cafe is magical, but then so is everything in Japan. The photo above is a view from the Tokyo SkyTree mall. It was a perfect day.
We didn’t go up in the SkyTree. We always end up at the Government Building where the view and piano music is free. So we shopped and scoped out the menu, which is seasonal. Take a look:
Getting a reservation at the Kirby Cafe involves some preplanning, and if you live in Colorado, a very early morning. Mr. Trent took one for the team and figured it all out and was up at 2 AM the month before we left, getting us a table. I’m going to spare you the family pictures, but they handed us props and posed us in front of a back drop before they seated us in a private dining room.
All the food at the cafe is adorable and of course Kirby themed. I learned that the orange guy’s name is Waddle Dee.
The level of detail and cuteness (kawaii!) is next level.
We tried to strategically order so that we’d get the best representation of the menu, but then I failed to take pictures of all the entries. This was my daughter’s Kirby burger. I died when I saw the pink Kirby bun.
This was my entree. It came out in this adorable container, which I got to keep along with a souvenir dessert plate, and inside was…
A delicious curry, Kirby’s Mogu Loco Moco bowl. It was so good! I’d happily eat here every Thanksgiving if I could. This year, however, we are headed to Amsterdam. We’ve never been, but are told that the pancakes there are next level. But do they come with adorable scoops of ice cream?
Kirby’s fluffy pancakes were a dessert menu item at the cafe. We happily ordered a plate to share. Strawberry ice cream, fruit, and a chef’s hat of whipped cream. Scrumptious!
This was another one of our desserts, the Kirby car cake. I easily could have eaten it all by myself, but there are rules about how many desserts you can order at the cafe. So we shared again.
A third dessert because it was Thanksgiving after all. This was the Whispy Woods Apple Pie on the winter themed dessert plate that they gave us as a present. Not that one exactly. Ours was bubble wrapped and boxed. It’s like they knew we weren’t locals.
The sun had set, and the SkyTree was lit up by the time we were done feasting and shopping at the Kirby Cafe store (That place is dangerous. I bought so many Christmas presents there.). It was a very happy Thanksgiving.
Holidays are a lot. They can be a lot of a lot when neurodiversity is added to the mix. They can be lonely when the prescribed, hallmark formula doesn’t work for you and yours. Going off script, experimenting, beating our own drums, and jumping ship have all been really good for us.
My conversation with my kiddos’ psychologist that I started this blogpost turned into a bigger conversation about how to approach travel when high functioning autism, anxiety, and ADHD are part of the mix. I am forever grateful for the team of mental health experts that me and mine have worked with over the years. Their expertise has enabled us to grow and realize some dreams we didn’t realize were possible. Oversharing is a thing, especially when you come this way just for the cute pictures of the adorable food, but please know that if you ever need to talk more about what my parenting journey has looked like, I’m happy to do so via email. Happy Thanksgiving, however you celebrate!