Talking Turkey

When I was a kid, if an adult said it was time to "talk turkey" they meant the conversation was about to get serious.  That's not what I mean by the title of this post.  Not At All.

Please zoom in to see Nathan's expression and Spencer's reaction

This post is my opportunity to share some of my favorite pictures from our resplendent Thanksgiving Day celebration.  Please note I didn't say it was perfect because we were missing the McGhee portion of our family.  And let's be honest, has there ever really been a perfect family gathering?  But all those present had a wonderful time.

There were the Noni and the Papa.  Along with the middle daughter and son, our own Schrecks.  As well as the youngest daughter and son, our part of the Smith clan.  Eight of our nine perfect grandchildren completed the lunch/dinner party.

Usually, we try to eat early in order to accommodate nap time for babies.  That means everyone enjoys themselves as much as possible before the magical hour of 2PM at which point all small people are rushed to the front door, loaded in carseats and whisked home before they can turn into little monsters.  This year, they were given the opportunity to stay as long as everyone remained pleasant. There were no meltdowns so they all stayed until after 6PM  It was marvelous.

There was a lot of porch-sitting and baby holding.  Some rolling down a hill and even some tree climbing.

Papa and Zach

Andrew, Ava and Madi

Andrew graciously put up with the most squeezing because at three months what can you do but scream a complaint?  And if you do, then everyone clamors to be the first to rock you back to a peaceful state.  Looking at it from his perspective, it's a no win situation.

Noni and Abby

Auntie Joy and Andrew

 (I have a terrific picture of four guys in an oak tree but I have spent fifteen frustrating minutes trying to make them stay in this spot.  The photo has taken a mind of its own and keeps jumping to various places all over the post.  I was forced to exercise an editorial decision and remove it.  Hopefully, you'll see our climbers in a future post.)

 Then there was the problem of the lost shoe.  The big boys played a lot of football and frisbee in our backyard.  At one point, Noah was going to kick the ball and his tennis shoe came right off, spun in the air and came to rest in our crepe myrtle tree.  Do you see it?  Fortunately, Grayson was coming on the scene to help retrieve the shoe if needed.
(If you zoom in you can find the red tennis shoe sitting proudly in the tree top.)

Meagan - Always the Teacher

Of course, after everyone had eaten their fill of turkey and all the accompanying side dishes it was time for some football watching and even a bit of napping.  While the fellas and babies did that, Aunt Meagan held a craft session with the middle-aged babies.  Noni will soon be the owner of a train made of popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners.  It has written across the top "Grand Central Station" and will frame pictures of. . . you guessed it, grandchildren.

Sorry about the glare - you get the idea.

Parker Franklin BEFORE Traffic     

At the time of finishing this post, our McGhee family is caught in traffic on their way home from GA.  If you've ever been stuck in the gridlock known as I-4 through Orlando, you have empathy for them.  (Even post gridlock you empathize.  I-4 is a never to be forgotten experience.)

I do hope your Thanksgiving Day was also a picture of "Perfect Imperfection."  That's what all family experiences are, right?  Not at all what the Hallmark movies would portray.  Real family gatherings more often involve lots of loudly opinionated, extremely intense, differently minded, overly sensitive individuals.  They all love one another enough to come together anyway.  And that's the richness of family.

Frank and I used to love reminding people of this truth when doing family conferences.  He would share in a humorous way, "Be aware that at the end of every large family gathering each individual family gets into their car and drives away saying, 'We are the only normal ones in the entire clan!' "

If you're blessed with real family that Talks Turkey, I'll bet you laughed out loud!


We'd love to hear about your holiday experiences.  Please stop by the comment box below.  It's our favorite part of any blog.