Our Big, Crazy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the primary holiday for my mother's family, but I didn't realize that the big, crazy tradition of all of us piling into my parents' house didn't start until I was 18.  Apparently, I declared that I had no desire to travel to a secondary location after travelling home from college, so everyone met there.  Who knew I had such power?  I simply remembered a few prior Thanksgivings at my aunt and uncle's, but they certainly weren't every year.  Or quite as insane.  This year there were *only* 19 humans, 5 dogs, and 2 cats.  14 humans, and all of the animals stayed at the house.

Usually, I'm fairly involved in the cooking, but I really didn't do too much this year.  I was a little preoccupied with the Lion.  Fortunately, there were plenty of hands to help in the kitchen.  Including my talented sister-in-law who managed to even look gorgeous while getting her hands dirty.

There also is a fair amount of parade, dog show, and football watching the day of.  However, we begin arriving on Tuesday and don't all leave until Monday, so there are MANY opportunities to be responsible for cooking.  Our tradition includes Greek food on Friday night, a movie, and usually running a race and ham and scalloped potatoes, though those were altered this year.  People still ran on their own, and my mother, aunt, and I hit up a Zumba class, but no race.  And the ham was substituted for lasagna on Wednesday, but did make its appearance on Sunday.

Fortunately, there are plenty of rooms to spread out, though Robby did get a little over-stimulated at times.  He found it a little rough to sleep until it quieted down on Saturday, resulting in my never sleeping more than an hour at a time.

 Thanksgiving dinner starts with everyone listing something they are Thankful for.  We start with the youngest, and go to the oldest.  Some are serious, some are funny.  I was thankful that my parents were such good role models for me to now be a parent.  Chris was thankful that Robby has more hair than he does, that I have supported him by listening to his heartbreak over Penn State, and our son.  However, the highlight of the list was my grandfather starting with, "I have slept with this woman since the 50's..."

I am truly thankful for both my little family and my big one.  It is my favorite time of year.

And Robby has no choice but to get used to it.  Even if it requires changing into pajamas as the party continues late into the evening.

Happy 1st Thanksgiving, Lion!