Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year didn't go at all as I'd planned. It's not my favorite holiday of the year, but most years I spend it at my good friends, the Kutners. But as you can tell by the picture above, I did not have Thanksgiving with them. Instead I boarded a plane to Phoenix to meet up with the rest of my extended family to celebrate the life of my grandfather. He would have been 96 years old December 7th.

As we approached PHX, the flight attendant announced that it was time for plane aerobics - for everyone to reach up and stretch.... stretch....now lean forward and stretch... and clean any trash out of the pocket in the seat in front of you. Clever.

My dad picked me up at the airport around noon and it was straight to my cousin's house for Thanksgiving dinner. The shot above is of all the great grandkids in the family (all but two). What you don't see (yet) is all the adults with all their cameras taking pictures of this bunch. Standing out there in the backyard trying to snap this photo, I suddenly became painfully aware That this was a "changing of the guard" moment - each generation was taking one step forward in the march of time. I and my cousins were no longer in the group of grandkids being photographed... we were the adults taking the photos of the kids, while our parents sat in chairs and watched. I announced to the group my revelation and several of us began to cry. It was bittersweet.

And here are mosst of the adults trying to snap their photos.

While it was sad circumstances, it was wonderful to see family that I haven't seen in several years. This is my Uncle Al who is married to Aunt Melinda to his right (my mom's sister). They live outside Fresno, CA.

A shot down the large table at my cousin, and hostess, Mary D. who opened her home to all 33 of us.

I liked this shot of my parents, and all the cross-the-table-conversations going on in the background.

My little cousin, Josh, who's not so little anymore and could pound me into the ground for all the picking on him that I do. He's kind to let me keep living. But as I told him, picking on him is how I as a smaller man remind him that I'm above him in the pecking order ;-)

We just about polished everything off. And the best part was to the left of the turkey... shredded roast beef!!! YUM!!! That's one of the reasons I don't like Thanksgiving: I don't like turkey. But this year beef was added to the menu and I was a much happier man.

...and the kids table. I did my best Nelson laugh from the Simpsons (HA! HA!) when they all started to circle around it. They weren't amused. Mostly because I don't think they got the reference.

Melinda with my Aunt Chris who did NOT want her picture taken. This was the best of the bunch.

My cousin Tance, Aunt Starr, and Tance's brother, Todd.

Tance and her husband, Anthony.

I told Melinda to smile and act like she had Martha Stewarted this pumpkin pie for my dad's birthday. Hard to believe he turned 65 on Thanksgiving. I'm not old enough to have a 65 year old parent.

Singing HaPpY bIrThDaY to my dad. Pumpkin pie is his absolute favorite.

My cousin bought a fire pit for all of us to sit around. It was surprisingly cold in PHX this Thanksgiving. The weatherman said it was a 30 year pattern of unusually cold air. Thank God for fire.

This is my Aunt Nancy. At one point around the fire she fell asleep with her lips resting on this glass. I tried to snap an unflattering picture of it, but she woke up just as I took this shot.