Looking back, those gatherings meant a great deal to me. If I wasn't able to get home for Thanksgiving, then I would find a group of close friends or the family of a close friend to share the day with.
Last year was the first time Thanksgiving was anything different for me. I didn't have family in the area and didn't really have any close friends to share the day with. I did have Arielle. Originally we hadn't planned on doing anything special for the day since she had a shift at the radio station and I had to work. We ended up cooking a chicken and making our own little special day. That day was special in it's own way.
It turns out Arielle has a lot of pretty cool cousins out here. The closest relation of any of them is 1st cousin, once removed and they get more distant from there. The first time we met them, if felt like the family that I was used to.
So, this year Thanksgiving was very familiar for me. Even if the faces weren't as familiar. We had dinner at Toni's house with about 20 other cousins. To them everyone's a cousin, so we're just the newest cousins.
Arielle volunteered to bring something, so I was up early making green bean casserole and cranberry sauce. I also roasted 2 jars of coffee, one regular and one decaf. If nothing else we could have good coffee and it's another talking point. Turns out I didn't need the talking point because I had the exact same feeling of family as I had when I first met all the cousins. We were welcomed as family with open arms and big hugs.
Mmmm... freshly roasted coffee
Toni's daughter Taylor was pretty cool. We're going to her 10th birthday party in a week.
Bella's pretty serious about playing.
Taylor had a turkey drawing contest. Looking back, I wish I had entered, but Arielle represented and got an honorable mention in the girls class. Next year, she'll own it.
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