T-day football, home

Don't get me wrong: I love the Thanksgiving meal planning and prep, and I don't even mind all the toil to get the house clean for the multitudes who will arrive to enjoy what my brother Andy awarded the highest compliment: "You always have real food." My wife Pam, an excellent cook, makes the noodles and the pies from scratch, and I help assemble just about every other part of a multifaceted feast. But my favorite part—the part I'm most deeply thankful for—is that we can still all get together to play our relatively sedate brand of football. So it went today, with the rain blessedly holding off and the family members who so desired—here, from the left, is my brother Rob, my son-in-law Dennis, who just uncorked the Nerf, and my grandson Cameron—getting out there for a bona fide game. As always, it was hard-fought and fun... even though our side lost, three touchdowns to two, on a miracle catch Dennis made on the very last play. We exited, happy and hungry. The hunger wouldn't last.