I did something incredibly stupid and went to the wrong gate for my flight, but they did find a way to get me across the country, and that day, even. It just took me an extra six hours.
Thanksgiving was at my oldest sister's house again, and it was awesome. Their house has kind of become our default gathering place since my parents moved away, since a) it's the biggest, b) they're the only ones with children, c) she's the best cook of all of us, and d) they live across the street from his parents so it's easy for them to see everyone.
All in all we had 13 people for the meal, plus visits from the older brother-in-law's family. We played croquet, and my nephew, who is three, won (Daddy helped). We mostly just had the classics: turkey, cornbread dressing*, sweet potatoes, onion casserole, cranberry sauce (canned, because fresh isn't traditional), mini-biscuits, chocolate cheesecake, and pecan pie.
I ended up being on the ground in Birmingham for 35 hours, but most of my time was spent with the kids, so that was awesome. The oldest niece grew two inches since I'd seen her last, and of course the difference between two and three in the youngest is amazing. I never really understood the "kids grow up so fast" saying before this.
*Yum.**
Anyway, the moral is: if you're going to wait at the wrong gate for your flight, schedule one early in the day so there are lots of opportunities to rearrange it.
**YUM.