The love a family...

Not only did I take a trip to Pittsburgh two weeks ago for two joyous occasions celebrating a wedding and a baby shower of two of my childhood friends, but I had the pleasure to spend the past 10 days with my family.  As many of you know, together my extended family probably makes up at least 20% of the population of Pittsburgh, PA or, at least, that is the way it feels.

What is even more amazing to me is that even though I spent my entire childhood growing up in Pittsburgh and have also spent significant time there as an adult, I am still meeting new relatives or finding out ways that I am related to folks who I never thought I was related to.  In a way, it is the perfect script for a Judd Apatow comedy- The woman whose family tree keeps getting wider and wider to include many unlikely suspects of all shapes and sizes. However, just as I'm about to sit down and write my real life comedy,  I am cognizant of our geographic proximity to the backwoods country and think that maybe it's best to keep my family tree under wraps as it may share too many intertwined branches. J/K.

In all seriousness though, as we rapidly approach the Thanksgiving season, I have been reflecting of all the ways I've been blessed and the love of my family is my number one blessing.  Coming from an Italian family where the dinner conversations include a playbill of boisterous conversation, arguing and making up all over oversized portions of homemade pasta, I'm not doubting that there can be challenges to overcome when spending time with your family.  However, at the end of the day, these very same people who you've contemplated throwing a meatball at during a heated conversation are the ones who would drop anything and everything for you.  They will defend you 'til the end and they will love you unconditionally even if they don't agree with your current condition, which they are also not shy about telling you.  This is why I love them.  We may be a little modern day Motley Crue and things aren't perfect, but I'll take them any day over the Trumps! Love to everyone this Thanksgiving season.  :)