I come from a very large family. Seriously, it's huge. My mom is the youngest of eleven kids, and when the whole clan gets together there are at least 150 people at any time, keep in mind that most people wander in and out of the party, so it fluctuates between 150 and 250, and that's not including friends. Our family is matriarchal; my grandmother-the one who raised and gave birth to eleven (!) children- is the lady in charge. Well, she's turning ninety this year and wants a rip roarin' party, as she says "even if I'm not around for it." This is where my story begins.
In any family there are divisions, in mine they lie between wealthy and impoverished, educated and ignorant, and then there are those who seem to thrive off of plain meanness. For the big nanogenarian bash the eleven (who are really ten siblings, as an uncle died several years ago, but still refer to themselves as the eleven) have been asked to work together to plan the party- it shouldn't be to hard as we somehow manage to pull off our family Olympics every year- a gathering of family, friends, sometimes people we don't know who may or may not be family, and the occasional charming homeless man- Reggie was the last one. But then I am reminded that they are in fact family and everyone has (1) a habit of bickering and (2) their own idea of what a good time is. My grandma came from a pretty poor family, but she's a classy lady, and it shouldn't be too much to ask everyone to put on a shirt and, hopefully, a tie for the fellas and sit down to a fancy dinner.
Apparently, it is. As with most families, mine comes with its share of feuds, alliances and backstories. Is it too much to ask for everyone to put those things aside for one night and have a good time?
I hope not.
