Kay's Cousins

 

Hayter for November 19, 2023

“A Full House”

        So how was Thanksgiving? – Okay. Okay, I see. Right, it’s always a wonderful occasion for all involved.  – Right now, I’d like to direct a question only to those who hosted a Thanksgiving gathering. How’d that go for you? – Forget it, let me tell you what I went through.

        Since Mom passed away, Kay and I have hosted so many family gatherings that it’s scary. Mom hosted the big events. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Jill and I took care of the vast majority of all non-holiday get-togethers. The others would have but would rather not. Each had relatively good excuses not to host a mass of Hayters.

        Elsie passed away in 2006. Before her passing, she lived in a small apartment. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to feed and entertain 20+ people in a small apartment? No one does. So, someone had to play Mom’s role. Who could do that? Who would do that?

        Each sibling gave it a shot. We lost three prospective hosts after that experiment. Big Al hung on for as long as he could but developed a case of curbed enthusiasm. It can sure happen. Jill and I are the ones who host most of the family’s few events.

        Over the past two years, we’ve both been a bit delinquent with inviting the clan over. It’s like a lot of work. It’s all great fun when we visit as a group, but prep time is almost as much trouble as clean-up. Jill hosted a Halloween gathering. Had she asked us to wear costumes, I would’ve used a headache as my excuse and missed it.

        The family had no Thanksgiving gathering this year. If they did I was not invited.  It doesn’t matter because we hosted Kay’s brother Mike and his wife Karen; her nephew and his family, then there were a bunch of cousins. Everyone was just as nice as they could be. One of the drawbacks to the event had to do with the venue. Our house doesn’t comfortably accommodate more than six guests. We had 22.

        The bad news was that it was too wet to go outside, so we all crowded together in the house. The good news was that Kay’s brother, and his wife were the only ones who stayed overnight. Two nights, actually. Have I ever mentioned how sweet Kay is?

        I was a different man while around Kay’s family. I barely fit into the Hayter Clan, but I have nothing in common with the Richards Clan. I didn’t even know what they were talking about most of the time. Way over my head. While I didn’t have much to say, it didn’t bother me any. Like my family, no one asks me anything. I seldom get asked a question. With Kay’s family, I never got asked a question. It was wonderful.

        And, I’ve got to tell you that I learned a lot about satellites, medications, diseases, AI, libraries, and weird foods. By the way, I’m a little less worried about AI. Cousin Keith told me that while five billionaires can control satellites and spy networks, and stuff that I’ve only noticed in Science Fictions movies, I have nothing to fear. Keith told me that the U.S. is far superior in any technologies produced by corporations or foreign powers. That was calming. At least it was up until I remembered the upcoming presidential election. A sane President would be essential, one would think.

By the way, I learned a lot from Keith and from Kay’s nephew Steven. That boy is as smart as the proverbial whip. Not quite as smart as his dad Mike, but then no one is.  Those people behave so much differently at get-togethers than the Hayters. I’m not saying that my family is better than Kay’s, but I can see where you might get that idea.

During the Hayter gatherings, the adults would generally hang out in the kitchen and dining room area. The kids preferred going nuts outdoors. When it rained, they preferred the outdoors even more. They were, apparently, so well-behaved because no one ever got killed or turned up missing.

As mentioned, Kay’s family did not make it outside during their visit due to the light rain. And what’s crazy is, they didn’t even care to. My nieces and nephews would’ve been out there doing abnormal things. Kay’s family’s kiddos stayed indoors and occupied their time with devices that had batteries in them. That was not even an option during the Wayback period.

Kay’s kinfolks have a different way of sharing stories. Eight of them sat at the dining room table with all of them talking at once. They must’ve been able to hear what the others were saying because they laughed at the same time. Some of the family stood in the living room, others in the kitchen. They had to speak loudly because the group at the table drowned out all other noises.

All in all, I felt pleased with the event. It’s gratifying to see a group of relatives remembering the way they were. They seemed to have a blast. They were grateful for Kay hosting the reunion-like event. They bragged about the food we prepared and how lovely the house was. I think the house part was somewhat of an exaggeration.

I was pleased that no one mentioned the times that I stood alone in the corner of the room and observed. It was so loud that I couldn’t hear what was being said by anyone. I must’ve missed out on a lot of jokes because there was so much laughter.

It turned out to be the most pleasant family gathering to ever be held in this house. There have been a couple of Hayter gatherings here, but no one was as excited to see one another as Kay’s family was. That was no mystery to me. None of us have been as close to one another as when Mom was with us.

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