It's Over - on to the next thing

Thanksgiving officially ended yesterday when the last of my family members departed in a frenzy of needing to return to civilization.

Just in case you are NOT a member of my family, I should explain that Thanksgiving is important to me for quite a few reasons. The first being that, when I was a kid, we routinely had about 40 people for dinner. The event was huge, and would frequently require three turkeys, three or four tables, and many days of preparation. We had 19 people for dinner this year. Our house is not as large as the one I grew up in, and New Hampshire is less of a destination location as the suburbs of New York. Also, I just don't know that many people. But the REAL reason Thanksgiving is important to me, besides the excuse to have pie for breakfast every day for a week afterwards, is that I get to see my family.

I HATE the way I look in the above picture (sorry Meg, it's just me. Everyone else looks fine.) But this is the first time I had been with my other brothers and sisters in years. At least two years, possibly longer.

It was different. The traditional family sing along has been replaced with a traditional family dance party. But some things never change, such as the Enforced Family Film Festival, and ordering pizza the next day.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I had a wonderful time, despite working myself up into a frenzy in the days before. The meal turned out to be wonderful, mostly thanks to Linda and Meg. It was delightful to be surrounded by my family again. My kids (and my dog) loved the attention and the opportunity to play with other grown ups. (Apparently I am boring.) I am almost sorry it is over.

And now... Christmas.

PS - everyone needs to send me their photos! I seem to have forgotten to take any pictures.