You couldn't possibly have expected anything other than gratuitous photos of Thanksgiving food. It was all delicious and I happily ate too much of it. I made sure to be thankful that I was able to eat too much, while watching the Detroit Lions lose on Thanksgiving. Again.
And per usual at my extended family gatherings, I found myself wondering if other people's families are as oddly raucous. It's difficult to explain the dynamic; you sort of have to experience it. All I know is that I would never want to be a stranger walking into it for the first time. Every time someone introduces a new boyfriend or girlfriend into the mix, I always keep an eye on them, wondering if they'll try to sidle out the back door.The first word that comes to mind is loud. Everyone trying to talk at once. Some people raising the volume of their voice to be heard, others increasing the shrillness in their tone. And, unfortunately, as the day wears on, those two tactics tend to blend into one: loud and shrill. There's also bound to be pounding, laughing, random bursts of off-key singing.
Conversations blend along a continuum from normal (sports, school, jobs) to long-standing family inside jokes to thinly-veiled inappropriate jibes. As everyone in my generation gets older, the veil is pretty close to fully removed and we regularly hear our parents throw around sexually-tinged jokes.Sometimes I hit a wall, the noise and activity becomes overwhelming. My head starts to pound and I start to shut down, dreaming of walking quietly through an empty forest. Yet, in the back of my head I know that I couldn't possibly imagine having a man in my life who couldn't handle these chaotic family gatherings. It's sort of a deal-breaker. So I guess I must kind of like my crazy family.
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