A Family Day

It was a Thanksgiving celebration, a family day, a merry gathering. Paul is in town, from Wisconsin, so we enjoyed the opportunity to catch up on celebrations and being together. And really, this was a big catch-up, with our closest and coziest time together in a couple of years.

(I find we are doing more, since the begining of all of this lockdown-quarantine-social distancing business began. All fully vaccinated, some boosted, too, but still with some trepidation, and for me... an indescribable mix of resignation, doubt, hope, and confusion. I guess some people feel smug about their conviction that it's all a media scam, that we are sheep, but some of those people are not alive to debate this, and that's the truth about a real pandemic. Happily, all in attendance are considerate and mindful. Anyway, this all seems a bit downer to mention, but it's also a part of our reality, and hard to ignore.)

We took a lot of group and family pictures which turned out nicely. I am only sharing the one, because I think some will be Christmas cards, and I don't want to spoil the reveal. We are so rarely at new places, even familiar places feel new, again. Holly and Rich's home is as beautiful as ever, and especially appealing at Christmas. It's nice to get to see the cousins, Nick and Izzy, to get to know Emma better. There were birthday gifts for Maria, and Holly, and lots of delicious things to eat. Anakin Cat was happy for company and affection. And the day was gorgeous, even when it cooled off at sunset. We got to play a game. I'd almost forgotten about Just One, the game that Leslie lead us through, last year, when we played in the driveway! It's such a fun game, and Leslie was so kind, and dedicated to getting us all to play, under challenging circumstances, and so I ordered it as gifts for family. Now, a year later, and in a much more convenient setting, we got to play it with a new group, and with the actual game pieces, instead of a white board and cell phones... lol. Just One is easy to play, and has that fun quality of not necessarily being competitive. It low-key gets everyone engaging, and we were certainly having some good laughs! And I keep thinking how patient and effective Leslie was to get us all playing, an otherwise simple game. ("Simple," if you aren't playing outdoors, by campfire light, using text messaging so each family group can remain socially distanced! What an achievement!)

And so, that's three things done from our Advent page... Maria's birthday and seeing the Miyazaki exhibit, and I forgot to mention, but we have a Christmas tree, now. It was delayed, but it's standing and cute, and ready for lights and baubles. And we had our Family Day-Thanksgiving sequel. I am glad there is more to look forward to, and I certainly hope it includes more family, laughter, and merriment.