I wore elf ears upside down and pretended to be Spock.

A few years ago a couple of my aunts (and maybe Momma?) decided to start having our annual get together. The women in my family used to do it once every year around Christmas time, but back then they called it the "Sister Thing." 

It was called that, because out of Momma and her siblings, there are ten of them (if you count the oldest/craziest one that I've only met like twice in my life) with seven of them beings sisters. It's not called the "Sister Thing" anymore (because we're not all sisters and they thought it was weird.... even though more than just the "sisters" have always come), but they instead made the group name "The Girls."

And I know this, because Danielle was forced to make a FB group so that we could all "keep up" and post pictures, and communicate.... and we all use it about once a year.

When it first started they decided they wanted it to be once every couple of months, maybe meeting up for lunch sometimes and at a house another.... and that lasted about half of the first year. Then it went to twice a year for a couple of years (or maybe just one year?), and now it's at once a year. We all say that we're going to have lunch together or something like that and then the next thing we know a year has gone by.

Because we have no follow through and we're tired.

With the "once a year" way, we usually meet up at one of my aunts house and have lunch/snacks, do a "Dirty Santa" and maybe exchange holiday cookies, ornaments, and treats.... and sometimes participate in a craft.

There are always people that don't come (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND IT'S YOUR LOSS, BECAUSE WE'RE DAMN HILARIOUS), but we usually have a good time, some laughs, and it lasts a couple of hours. And then we go about our merry way and say shit like, "we're gonna have to do this more often" and we don't not do it, because we don't like each other (even though some of us like more people than others), but because once again that whole follow through thing.

This year we met up at Aunt Susi's (it's usually at her house.... always has been), and ate, did the "Dirty Santa" thing (and I'm still not 100% sure that we all know how that game works), and talked for a couple of hours. We didn't do a craft this year, but Dani made her stuffed mushrooms so I think we can all agree to chalk that up to a win.

Here's to next time.... probably.