MY CRAZY FAMILY

Every family has its own quirks that make large holiday gatherings so memorable. 
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to celebrate our family oddities.

By  Julia Joseph
       Archbishop Wood High School

                 Thanksgiving, as we know it, is a time when families come together to celebrate each other's company over a feast of delights.
                 However, in my family, it is slightly more complicated than that.
                 Every year we pack up our family of three and travel to my Uncle Bill and Aunt Kathy's house for Thanksgiving dinner with my mom's side of the family.  This is the scene of most American families, more or less.
                 When we get there, that's when things turn, shall we say, different.
                  Most of you reading probably don't know my family or me that well.  Alone in any situation, we are normal, everyday people.  But all together, well, we're nuts, to say the least.
                 At our family gatherings, we have a series of unusual events that make up our evening. 
                 Here are a few:
1. Sing "Alice's Restaurant"
                 I have no idea where this tradition started, but it's just not Thanksgiving without it.  Several radio stations across the country play the 20-minute song by Arlo Guthrie every hour on the hour.  Every time it plays, people gather around the radio in the kitchen and sing along.
2. Declare what we're thankful for
                 This may seem cliched, but it's what we do.  The thanks are miscellaneous and range from the big things to the small things.  For example, last year I said I was thankful that I hadn't been shoved into a locker as a freshman yet.
3. Hold a competitive Wii tournament
                  This is one of my favorite and least favorite parts of the whole night.  It's one of my favorite parts because we're all in the room together playing one big game.  It's one of my least favorite parts because I never win due to my younger cousin, Sammy, cheating.
4. Make Thanksgiving food art
                  I never succeed as well as my cousins with this tradition.  With our leftover food, we make art on our plates.  Pretty self-explanatory.  I'm just not as creative as everyone else who does it.  There have been faces with corn smiles and green bean eyes, snowmen made from mashed potatoes, and pirates with cranberry sauce eye patches.  Mine is usually just a plate of food.
5. Screech out "Happy Birthday"
                 In the family, we have about four November birthdays.  We don't all get together often, so we celebrate all the birthdays at Thanksgiving.  For some reason, my oldest cousin, Ali, decided we would sing "Happy Birthday" as loudly and off-key as possible.  And every year we do the best we can.  This is why I love Thanksgiving.  It's a time when I can enjoy being together with my family, and have a little crazy fun, as well.