I really resisted writing a Thanksgiving blog because I felt like it was like the television shows that do their holiday episodes. I don’t really like those holiday episodes.  I find them kind of boring. My life, however, is anything but boring. I don’t think I’ve thought at one point in the last four years, “gee, I’m bored”.  It’s been more like, “gee, I’m tired”. But since Thanksgiving is here, it’s hard to not consider my very special family.

One of my favorite holiday movies is “Home for the Holidays” with Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr. That movie is the perfect blend of funny and tragic. That movie speaks to me because it seems to show life on life’s terms. It portrays a family that comes together during the holidays despite all of its characters (and I mean characters).

This year, the holidays have snuck up on me faster than I could blink. So far, just a day before Thanksgiving, I feel like I’ve gotten wrung through the family ringer. I’ve had painful talks with my mother who is really saddened and hurt by my dad. I’ve heard from my dad, who is trying really hard to end his marriage without further injuring anyone and in doing so is ignoring the fact that he probably shouldn’t be having hard talks with my mom before Thanksgiving. And I’ve heard from my brother, who got mad at me for telling him to call my mom after my conversation with her. Meanwhile I’m trying hard to protect my sister from the drama of this so she can have a very special engagement party with all of the family on Friday. By the way, I’m in charge of the seating chart for that party. It’s been one of the hardest simple tasks I’ve been in charge of since initially offering to help plan this party. I can’t sit mom next to dad or even on opposite sides of the table so they see each other. I’m not sure my brother wants to sit by me? My sister-in-law wants to sit near my mom to help her speak up if she needs to. Then there is my 94-year-old grandmother who I also have to worry about sitting too close to my father because my 94-year-old grandmother is very outspoken. In the past, at restaurants, if she didn’t like the food, she has been known to tell the wait staff that the food was “for the poor”. Then there is my sister’s fiancé’s family to consider: His 93-year-old grandmother is coming with her boyfriend, whom I am told can’t hear a thing. His mother is outrageously crass, loud, but fun. My only saving grace is that my little cast of characters (Olivia, Georgia, and Raquel) are staying overnight at my in-laws so I will not have to negotiate how long I have to eat my dinner before one of the kids decides to try and get out of their seat and say “hi” to the other patrons.

So the holidays are here, all right. Tonight is dinner at Grandpa Dick’s house. His house isn’t childproofed. He usually has a low table with many appetizers and we have to fight to keep Olivia from eating all of the olives on that table. There is often a fire going and no protective screen in front of it. Thank goodness Rocky just learned how to crawl. But maybe we will be outside since the weather is so nice? The koi pond is exceptionally beautiful to look at. It’s also fortified by an electric wire to keep the raccoons out. I gasp every time Georgia goes near it. She usually trips over it a few dozen times. I have never seen her get shocked for some reason. Hopefully, she won’t take to throwing rocks at the fish this year. There will be the usual Blaustein jokes, jokes told by my father-in-law and his brother, Milt (these jokes aren’t usually funny which is why we call them “Blaustein jokes”). Crazy cousin Linda will be there, who is one of my favorite people. She is blunt to a fault and I will always remember the year she told my brother-in-law’s girlfriend (they are no longer together) that if she wanted to be a member of the family that she “better act like it”. There will be Lauren and her husband Torsten (cool German accent). Other folks in attendance: brother-in-law, Bruce, and his teenage daughter, Katie, Aunt Lynn, and my father-in-law, Dick.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am grateful for my entire family, extended and immediate. I love them because they are mine. None of us are perfect. But I love them because they love me. May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families. Let’s all pray for no ER trips, pies dropping on the tile floor, or peas stuck up the kid’s noses. Oh, that and world peace.