Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite even though I've never had one Thanksgiving that's been the same. We either eat different food, sit at a different table, or stay with different people. This year it was at our house. A first I think. We had it with my aunt, uncle and cousin and grandpa and grunkle (great uncle). Family gatherings are always...tense. You see all my family had joined the crazy train where they no longer eat gluten. Or dairy. It is not that they are allergic to those things, they just think they are. It has never been proven. A serious source of contention seeing as how we had to eat tofu stuffing (never again), pumpkin paste instead of pie, and gravy made with some sort of root that my grandpa claims had Hindu healing powers. Not the best food. That ends up not mattering though, and we (I) pretend everything tastes good and my dog gets his full share of my brussels sprouts. What really matters is being with the people I love. Family is pretty great. Like seeing the look on my aunt's face when my uncle said he hitchhiked with the attorney for Hells Angels, or the stories from my cousin's Meeting at his new Quaker boarding school. Do not ask me how that happened. It boils down to the conversations we have and the memories that we make. Orange-flavored yams included.