My side of the family gets together every few years for Thanksgiving. It is our holiday to share from where we’ve been spread across the U.S.  When it first started, I thought it was supposed to be every three years, but somewhere along the line that was changed and some people insist it was always supposed to be every five years.

So back in the year 2000 we had the first gathering at the Indiana branch, the one most central to all three. Most of the photos you see actually look more like Christmas. Since we seldom spend Christmas together, the Friday after Thanksgiving became our chance to actually be there when the presents were opened, to see the reaction of the person receiving our gifts.

It was also the time my dad fell and hit his head and had to go to the emergency room. The Parkinson’s made him slightly unstable, and he fell while at the house. But he went to the emergency room, and came back, and we still had a fine family time.