Thanksgiving Dinner

In the past few days, a number of acquaintances have asked how my Thanksgiving was. It's a friendly enough question that requires a fairly length response on my part.

For those who don't know, I'm the fifth child out of seven in my parents' family. Yes, we're Catholic. I know that's what you were going to ask next, so I'll beat you to the punch.

We're all at least 21 years old, with four of those children having children of their own. We still gather as a family, which is unique and wonderful and nuts all at the same time.

Here's what makes it nuts. Just take the original seven kids and two parents, and put them back into the home we had as we grew up in Northwest Ohio. My parents have more knick-knacks than when we were here. We're all bigger than when we all lived there together. It's a challenge.

Then add in spouses and significant others. Sprinkle in the grandkids. There's a healthy dose of noise as people are all trying to communicate. It's sort of like trying to have a conversation at a subway station during rush hour or discuss your innermost thoughts as the home team scores a touchdown.

In short, it's nuts.

It's great, though, getting to play with nieces and nephews. That's the payoff for coming back to Ohio, getting to play with them. There's nothing more satisfying in life than having a child simply happy you're there.

Dinner was delightful. Because of the limited seating availability, I swear every time someone got up for a new plate of food, someone else took their seats. I think that might be how the rotation worked, where you're counting on someone standing at all times. It's sort of like the "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" game where one person has to stand, one has to sit and one has to lay on the floor.

Anyway, I'm glad I could come up for the holiday. It certainly reminds you what you're thankful for. There's nothing like family, for better or for worse.