My Family Put FUN in DysFUNctional–Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Yes, we love our families. Yes, lots of us have to give ourselves a pep talk before we enter the room for that Thanksgiving dinner, smiling.

Families know how to push our buttons. Families have issues. If you haven’t seen the new George Clooney movie, be prepared. It’s not a feel-good. It’s a reality check.

Speaking of reality checks, families are also good for that, too. They keep us grounded. Praise the Lord. Pass the gravy. We all need to stay grounded. The uncle/brother/ mother/cousin who drives you crazy may be doing you a favor, you know, keeping your ego in check.

If it’s politics that drives you crazy, listen. It pays to understand how the other side thinks. If you’re bored, ask yourself why. Are you so busy you can’t change pace for a half-a-day? If it’s an old issue that keeps coming up, remind yourself that it’s OLD. If you don’t want to deal with it, tell yourself you’re not dealing and shrug.

Here’s the key, according to me. No matter what happens, ask yourself what’s funny about the situation. How would this make an interesting story? Humor trumps anger. Even if you’re only amused on the inside, keeping your feelings to yourself, you’ll win. You’ll leave the family gathering in better spirits and maybe wiser for taking a step back and putting life in perspective.

That’s my Thanksgiving morning pep talk. I needed it. Have a good one with lots of food and amusement/amazement at the FUN in every family’s dysFUNction.

Cheers!!!

Story Pegs: The Vampire Thanksgiving

We use stories as pegs in the slippery slope of time.

New peg for us: The Vampire Thanksgiving. Found ourselves sharing a table, at a local restaurant with a friend of a friend who happens to write books about vampires. She talked nonstop. Not nonsense! She really knew the literary history of vampires and was both interesting and informative on a subject my husband never knew he had any use for.

“Dad discussed vampires over his turkey,” I told our grown-up sons when they called that evening.

“You’re kidding, really?”

Thanksgivings come and go, but because we have a stake in the heart of Turkey Day 2008, we will remember this one. “Oh, yeah, that was the year of the Vampire Thanksgiving.” That phrase, of course, begs to be followed by the story.