While most families veg out on the couch after thanksgiving dinner, my relatives were making the most of the holiday gathering–spending two hours taking the family picture.

It was a true multi-generational affair - Grammie was there, all the uncles and the aunts, the cousins, the step-cousins and the newly-wedded bride of the oldest cousin. With all in attendance, it was absolutely essential that a new set of family photos be commissioned.

Hundreds of shots were taken in front of the fireplace. There was the cousins shot, the female cousins shot, the male cousins shot, all the cousins with Grammie, all the cousins with the cat, the shot of Grammie and her three grown children, one of just the grownups, a picture of just Grammie, only to name a few. This anthology preceded the infamous group shot.

Year after year, the group shot is always the pinnacle of the photo shoot. It takes half an hour to assemble, rearrange, push up, pull down and settle the fifteen family members into a “frameable” order. Then, cousin Jessie must hit the self-timer button and scurry to cram in the picture, while everyone stands motionless, waiting a good fifteen seconds and donning his or her cheesiest grin. A blue ribbon winning picture is sure to result.

Why bother taking all that time with the family snapshot? it’s greeting card season, people! Don your best smiles and pose with your annoying brother and sister. You know that family print will be sent to every Tom, Dick and Harry your parents have ever met. Maybe you are lucky enough to be a member of one of those families that types up an update about everything that has happened to you in the year 2006. I know I am.

So while you were lounging on the couch in a turkey coma, my family was busy working off their ten pound dinner with the never-ending photo shoot, all in the effort to insure that our holiday greeting will be the merriest.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 30th, 2006 at 6:14 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.