Putting out this issue of The Capital City Hues has been a challenge. In some ways, it’s been too much of a good thing.

On Thanksgiving Day, my daughter, Jennifer Ransom, two of her children, her brother Myles and her other dad John came up from Jackson, Mississippi via Chicago to join in on a Gramling Thanksgiving in Milwaukee. It was a reunion of sorts as Jennifer hadn’t seen this side of her family since the 1990s

We met for Thanksgiving at my sister Anne’s house. And while there are no guarantees on how things would go, it ended up being a very joyous time. All were very welcome to this family celebration. There was a lot talking and laughter and reminiscing.

It was also something new for Jennifer and the rest of the contingent from Mississippi and Chicago. With the exception of Jennifer as a child, none had been to a big family gathering before. Due to being from small families or religious and financial considerations and sometimes the challenges of life, they had been to small holiday observances or none at all.

I was triply thankful this Thanksgiving. First it was so wonderful to have Jennifer come up for the holiday and to spend it with her and her entourage. It made me so happy to see Jennifer especially enjoy the occasion. Second, it reinforced an appreciation that I have for the large, Catholic family I was raised in. We didn’t have far to go have a sense of community. And third, I am grateful for the bounty that I have received, a bounty I didn’t necessarily deserve or earned, but still a bounty I have received.