Follow-up to Next Steps

This post is a follow-up to next steps.

The whole Thanksgiving thing set in fine relief. I'm not sure if I was clear about what happened here.

I spent the day with my brother and his wife and her family. I couldn't have asked for anything better than this unless it was to have my mom and step dad here too.

At the end of the day - these holidays are about family and friends and giving thanks. B's mom made a wonderful meal with some dishes also provided by her grandmother.

I had a lot of good food and even better conversation. This to me is what family is about.

My family is made up of a rather distinctly unusual and bright and talented people. It's not a stretch really. All of us are super bright regardless of which end of the gene pool we came out of.

B's family is very similar in that regard. They are wonderfully bright and sensitive caring people. I really love that she and her family have joined with us. More importantly I love that my brother married the right girl for him. Their children will be a hoot and I can't wait for nieces or nephews that will actually know who I am. I love them already!

In short my brother and I are closer now. Not due to this holiday specifically but some family events of late. This makes me so happy. We talk like we haven't in years. He makes me laugh. All of you who know me and think I'm the funny one?? WRONG - he's the funny one. I'm the straight man.

I had one of the most relaxed days in a long time on Thursday. Christmas is with both families at my brother's house - that's going to be a blast and I can't wait. Last year was with B's family and if that's any indication I'm really looking forward to it. It's so nice to have a big family.