It’s November 1st… do you know where your Thanksgiving turkey is?

Now that the Halloween festivities are over, it’s time to turn our focus to Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy the food, the fellowship, the fun with family and friends. In fact, what’s not to like about Thanksgiving? If you have a normal family you probably have an answer to that question. The one thing that seems to rob our joy at Thanksgiving is the ongoing drama that can occur when distant portions of our family get together for one day out of the year. Or maybe it’s the recurring drama. Or the drama that’s just waiting to burst into existence.

I feel your anxiety.

I think I finally figured out a way to combat those worries about who might say what to who. Who might not be speaking to who. Who might drink too much. Who might drink too little (haha, that’s joke. I just couldn’t resist). Or any other prickly family situation that seems to occur year after year.

I decided that my goal for Thanksgiving was that I (primarily) and my immediate family (secondarily) would be my focus. That I would focus on having a great time myself and offering the opportunity for my family to have a good time as well. That as for the rest of them, if they wanted to find something to criticize, or someone to loathe, or something to complain about, oh well. Their loss.

Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t actually perfected this yet. I still find myself hurt or frustrated or sad or angry or just plain p***ed off at some of the shenanigans that happen at loving family get-togethers. I still wonder why my family is so ornery when I’m just sure that everyone else has a Norman Rockwell experience every single year. But then I re-enter reality, realize that everyone has issues (even me, rarely), and that for better or worse, this is family God placed me in. I am to love each and every one of them with the love of Christ. And that’s what I try to do.

Of course, I also invite tons of friends on the hope that my family will all behave themselves around strangers!

Halloween Photos
I did not get very good photos last night, but I’m going to share what I have even if they’re blurry, off center, etc. We went over to Katie’s and went trick-or-treating with Sunny’s two cousins Naiya & Aziza. We hit around eight houses and then we were done! It was a lot of fun…

Wonder Woman, Snow White, Cow