Thanksgiving 2009 was a success - good food, good people and minimal property damage. Only two family heirlooms were broken, and a potential bathroom flooding situation was averted in the nick of time thanks to quick maneuvering by Joe and Jenny. Of course, the situation wouldn't have occurred in the first place if it weren't for Jenny (in fact all of the property damage incurred over the holiday was due to my little sister Jenny and her progeny).

The family gathering was much smaller this time than it has been in recent years - only 35 people. In the past, our Thanksgiving gatherings included everyone my great-grandmother was responsible for creating - her four daughters (my grandmother being one of them) and their respective families. This was often a crowd of 50+, but since the passing of my great-grandmother a few years ago, we've scaled back some. Now our Thanksgivings mostly include my grandparents, my mom's four siblings and their families, and my family. As good as it is to gather everyone together for one afternoon a year, with 35 people and 3-4 hours in which to catch up on a year's worth of happenings, Thanksgiving is an awful lot like speed dating. I rely on Joe to fill me in on the deeper happenings in my family members' lives. Each year he manages to pull three or four people aside and get the REAL story, while I usually get quantity over quality. Even still, the chaos, the crowd and the food is what makes Thanksgiving my favorite holiday.

Speaking of food, I came a little closer to my goal of eventually making it through a Thanksgiving without overeating. The hard part is that there's not much warning that you're reaching the limit. You think you're doing good, and then ONE bite will be all it takes to push you over the edge. Being vegetarian has helped by eliminating about half of the available options, but as long as there is a dessert table with 8-10 different delicacies, I'll always be in trouble.

Here are a few photos I've managed to edit so far. More to come soon, maybe.

A rare photo of Joe with a normal smile. :)


The boys looking tough.