Welcome back to The Weekend Press! In which Elliot Ackerman says thank you for thank-you notes and Kat Rosenfield is grateful for her husband. But first, we’re handing the mic to our prodigious young editor, Jillian Lederman. . .
This Thanksgiving, there were 15 people around my dinner table. No, I don’t have a massive extended family; but I am the third oldest of seven children.
When people discover that fact, the first question they usually ask is: Are your parents religious? The answer is no—or at least, that’s not why they had so many kids. My parents had seven children because they wanted what can only be described as a big life.
And they got one.
Matching T-shirts to make sure no one got lost; inside jokes and made-up card games; boxes upon boxes of take-out pizza; and a crowded dinner table every night . . . in my piece today, I’ve tried to capture what it was like to grow up sharing bedrooms and toys and clothes and parents with six other people.
It’s often assumed that having many siblings is a burden: that it means less money, less time, less attention. That the older siblings have to act as second parents to children they never asked for, nor chose.
If this assumption is based in reality, it is not a reality I know. My siblings are the greatest gift I’ve ever been given.
If you’re familied out after Thanksgiving, read on to put the holiday chaos in perspective—and to be reminded why brothers and sisters are a marvelous blessing. —Jillian Lederman
Getting a handwritten note, whether it’s from a dear friend or a new acquaintance, is a singular pleasure—but who has the time to send them anymore? Even very busy people, it turns out. Not long ago, Elliot Ackerman got one from a friend with a very full life—and it inspired him to start sending letters whenever he can. Once you’ve read his column, you might be moved to do the same.
Girls don’t dream of getting married anymore. A “Vogue” article went viral with the headline “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?” Women who stoop to getting into heterosexual relationships complain about “mankeeping,” and “emotional labor.” Into this morass steps Kat Rosenfield with a radical opinion: Having a husband is one of the best things in the world.
This week we published a great excerpt from the legendary restaurateur Keith McNally’s memoir, as well as a moving first-person from one of his employees, Cheikhou Niane. And more!
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How should you spend your postholiday weekend? We asked Suzy Weiss for recommendations. . .
🍳 Eat . . . I’m hardly the first to point out that Thanksgiving food is overrated; 100 brownish mushy dishes that never add up to anything that exciting, sorry to say. It’s not necessarily a bad meal—you could melt marshmallows on top of packing peanuts, and it would be pretty good—but it’s never the meal I dream of. This weekend, give yourself a reprieve, and cook something simple that won’t require every pot and pan in your possession. I recommend this herbed chicken over rice recipe (it’s like an elevated, herbaceous halal-cart meal), or this acidic chicken number from the millennial Ina Garten, Alison Roman. These marinated anchovies—after Thanksgiving, I’m always craving some bite and brine—are also a banger.
📺 Watch . . .There’s a trend in television shows where members of the elite class melt down, and it’s endlessly entertaining. What started with Big Little Lies—which explored the vices, secrets, and violence lurking under the sparkly surface of the 1 percent—has spawned a million copycats: There’s Your Friends & Neighbors with Jon Hamm, The Perfect Couple, and more recently, All Her Fault, in which Sarah Snook plays a moneyed mom whose 3-year-old is kidnapped. But if you’re going to binge one series in this category this weekend, make it the new Netflix thriller, The Beast in Me. It stars Claire Danes as Aggie Wiggs, a famous author (think: Zadie Smith, not Dan Brown) who can’t seem to control her temper, or deliver on the book she is two years late turning in—and Matthew Rhys as her new neighbor, Nile Jarvis. Jarvis is a disgraced real estate mogul who can’t tame his bloodlust, as he calls it. That, when mixed with his unlimited resources, is a deadly combo.
📚 Read . . . To prepare for Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, consider reading Michel Houellebecq’s Submission, a novel about what happens when far leftists form a coalition with Islamists. Submission takes place in France, and it’s both dark and entertaining. For a shorter read, Tatiana Schlossberg’s essay, about her rare cancer diagnosis, is devastating and beautiful.
Last but not least: The countdown to Christmas begins! Behold, the Met’s traditional tree, which has just been unveiled again:
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Yes. I love them, need them and appreciate them. Even if they are boys.
I have 11 siblings. The final child, my younger brother, was born in 1969. Our family is huge now - with grandchildren and great grands. I am so grateful for my big, loving, supportive family!! Thank you for this article. It’s going on our family WhatsApp now 💕