thanks

My blog was pretty silent over the Thanksgiving holiday, and there are two reasons for this.


exhibit a: the ritual 4 day long face stuffage

exhibit b:  the ritual cramming to finish a book for book club, in this case,  Pride and Prejudice.

Which brings me to the 2 things I'm thankful for: Thanksgiving food (which is my go-to answer for the "last meal" question) and the fact that modern society affords us more hobby options than walking in circles around a room.


Jaws have been known to drop when I reveal the number of people present at our Thanksgiving meal: 65. Everyone brings something amazing (my family happens to be really proficient at Jello molds. I never even think about Jello every other day of the year, but on Thanksgiving it's usually my favorite part). The meal is served buffet style, and people eat at tables set up throughout the house. Afterward, there's a big family softball game.


The holiday serves as a family reunion for my dad's side. His grandfather, who came through Ellis Island from Hungary, had 5 children, 10 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, 28 great-great-grandchildren, and so far I think 5 great-great-great-grandchildren. 4 generations are usually represented at the holiday. This year, there was a family tree set up, and people were constantly stopping by to figure out how exactly they were related to one another. 

It's still confusing to me. People were suggesting name tags for next year, but I'm envisioning an interactive app, where I can scan the person and find out how they're related to me. Because chances are, I will have just finished eating 4 times my body weight and won't want to think. 


My family's Thanksgiving is fascinating to people like Y, who has a whopping 4 relatives in the U.S., and not too many more abroad. 


It is also fascinating to people like Ike, who cannot comprehend why humans had to complicate the art of throwing and retrieving a ball.