We're teaching the girls to play Poker on Thanksgiving night.
Sometimes the best times come from the result of poor planning.
The first part of the day was planned perfectly in that Sarah wanted to run a race in town with daughter Maddie and our friend Michelle and I'm content to "babysit" Laurel and Cassidy ... meaning not to make too much noise while they sleep.
Late morning they arrive home and eventually take off for the Family Celebration, a dinner-on-the-grounds feast for a hundred or so Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, nephews, nieces, friends and several others I don't know.
Perfectly timed, we arrive as Grace is being said to pick and choose from several hundred home cooked dishes, amidst hugs and catching up, jokes and memories and remembering everyone who's not present.
Followed by pictures in the massive front yard, we load up for the drive home.
Back on island, we opt to skip the celebration at Fannies-On-The-Beach and stay home with the girls who are staring at their cell phones in their rooms.
Sarah and I crash in an uncomfortable sort of way as she realizes we have nothing planned for the evening ... no intimate family meal with leftover turkey and dressing ... and not one thing in our home speaks of the Holiday.
So we break out the chips, gather the girls at the table and play poker ... which of course turns into a hotly contested and LOUD game full of accusations of cheating, calling each other names and a couple of yelling matches!
But we're together which is really what Thanksgiving is all about.
"Next year we have to plan better," Sarah concludes.
"I want to run my own Casino," Maddie informs us. "Do I need a business degree for that?
So from our family to yours ... we hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving celebration!
Just wait till next year's!
