There is no one-and I mean no one-on this planet who would have owned you as hard at Monopoly or Uno as my Aunt DeChan.

DeChan had the most awesome smile you’d ever want to see. It was the smile that screamed “winning” long before Charlie Sheen made it popular. But you would be a fool to let that smile deceive you, for it was a siren’s call luring her witless prey into her web of games. Games that she had mastered; inside and out. There was no hope, chance or joy. She was going to win and win big.

Family gatherings were few and far between but when we did get together we had a lot of fun. Pretty much everyone in my family is an entertainer, they’re all funny and all have these interesting little quirks about them. The kinds of things that make you love your family, that make you love other human beings. I don’t say it much and often times I’m far too guilty of dwelling on the negatives in life, but I admit I really miss those times with my family growing up. It wasn’t all peachy but what in life is? When all is said and done we’re family and that’s what always matters. We had more good times together than bad anyways and those were some fun times.

At those gatherings there were two people who had to be there in order for things to be right. Mommo, my grandmother and Dechan. While Mommo was busy cooking with a skill that would make Merlin ask how she does her magic, DeChan usually had all the kids together systematically dismantling any delusions we had about scoring let alone winning at a game of Monopoly or Uno. It didn’t take long before we’d all been beaten to the point where we were getting angry. Remember as a kid how angry you got when someone mopped the floor with you in a game or some competition? Take that and multiply it over several nieces and nephews and you’ll have an idea of what we’re talking about. Then from a silent place, suspended by nothing came a voice piercing through the anger that enveloped us.

“You wanna go to Chunkem Cheese’s?” my aunt’s voice rang loud and true, nodding her head at the same confirming her words and effectively dissuading any thoughts of oral hallucinations we might be having. What group of kids doesn’t get excited when you ask them if they want to go to Chucky E. Cheese? And this is back when they were good. When they didn’t serve beer and the pizza was still made of actual food.

I still think Showbiz Pizza was better.

I don’t know why she called it Chunkem Cheeses but we didn’t care. Maybe she did it to make us laugh. If that’s the case then it worked because to this day I still think about that every time I pass by a Chuck E. Cheese. Dechan has been gone a long time now; Mommo too. But they both leave behind memories that push us to create new ones and new stories to tell with our children and grand children.

We’ve all got something bad going on or had something bad happen, no one is unique in that respect. But the meaning of Thanksgiving; at least on a personal level-is the reminder to simply be thankful. Be thankful for the things you do have and thankful for the good memories of those we don’t. Going into Christmas and New Year’s Eve try and keep that in mind. Better yet, make it a daily habit. The habit of being thankful.