Another Memorable Thanksgiving
I spent Thanksgiving in southern California with Jaime's in-laws. I've been trying to figure out what's the best wording to describe the family of my son-in-law. Evidently, relationships through marriage are technically called affinity, as opposed to consanguinity, for blood relations. But that's a bit of a stretch. I'm thinking co-in-laws or maybe out-laws! But that's who I spent the holiday with.
The last time I joined the Karren gang for Thanksgiving was in 2015. We met at Carpinteria Beach. That get-together was especially memorable--besides the food and fun around the campfire--because Brian and Jaime got engaged.
There was some joking apprehension about what my blog would contain after this Thanksgiving weekend. I try not to mention friends or family too much here--basically not my place to put them on social media--but so as not to disappoint, I'll make an exception.
The Karren family is tight-knit, but open-armed to friends and stray in-laws. They're matter-of-fact and real. They're boisterous and laugh a lot. They're perfectly imperfect. And they're fun to be around! There. I've said it. That's as bad as it gets--not bad at all--in fact, pretty great!
It was fun being part of the controlled chaos of 17 people (and 5 dogs) for Thanksgiving dinner. It was lively and loud and delicious. In the days after the big event, we lounged around in the sunshine, went to see the LA Zoo holiday lights, shopped the Santa Monica Flea Market, and had no shortage of good meals.
Brian, Jaime and I also went to Malibu one day to visit one of my cousins, one of her kids and two of his kids. We had a long-overdue catchup and a beautiful walk on the beach.
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