Holidays have always been stressful at my house - whether it's Dad yelling at whatever meat we're having, or Mom complaining that no one's helping her when in fact we'd love to help, she's just horrible at delegating. It could be my younger siblings complaining about how the older kids don't help with setting the table, or my brother and me whining about having to move the (very heavy, awkwardly large) grill for the third time in two days, or my older sister yelling at everyone younger than her to go help Mom while she sits on her computer or hides upstairs and sleeps. These are the things that I've grown up expecting at holidays and to not have them would be very discombobulating. I complain about these things, but at the same time, these are the things that make my family's Thanksgivings, Christmases, and Easters feel like home.
Dad, I do not thank you for wearing a dress to bed and then not changing until after 11AM. There's a line, and you crossed it when you turned 13 and still insisted on wearing those things. I do, however, thank you for being good-natured enough to let us mock you mercilessly for it. Thank you for being the provider of beer to the poor college student who can't drink it at her Baptist school.
Mom, thank you for always putting on a fantastic meal that usually leave me feeling a little distended. Thank you for keeping up the tradition of carrot casserole, even though you know that Dad is the only one who likes it. It's great for throwing at squirrels for the next week until the leftovers mysteriously disappear.
Rachel... thank you for finally being less of a tight-butt. "That's what she said" is hilarious and I'm glad that Iraq made you appreciate juvenile humor a little more. Thank you for agreeing with and humoring my obsession with gnomes.
Austin, get off the computer and be sociable. Trust me; we're a lot funnier than Memebase. Thank you for knowing what I mean when I glance at Mom, roll my eyes and look at you.
Alicia, lighten up sometime. I know you crack immature jokes with your friends - you don't have to act like a little adult just because Rachel's around. Thank you for being our own comedic relief when we need someone to laugh at before we explode on each other. Your attempted input into arguments is the stuff of legend.
So, family, even though I know that none of you read this, thank you for making my holidays full of stress, yelling; and when everybody else gets here, muttered cussing. Thank you for making me laugh at myself and how I turn back into a 12-yr-old whenever I am around more than one of you. Thank you for the stifled giggles when someone has a really good "that's what she said" that we can't let Mom or Dad hear.
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