Saying the blessing on Thanksgiving in my family can take a long time. First of all, there are a lot of us — my two brothers, three stepbrothers, wives, kids, aunts, uncles and, until they passed a few years ago, my grandparents. Saying the blessing on Thanksgiving, Christmas or other rare occasions when the 15 to 20 of us are together usually involves going around the table and saying a few words, such as what we’re thankful for.

I never really liked this when I was a child or an awkward teenager. By the time it was my turn to give thanks, the potatoes were already cold and all the good stuff had already been mentioned (family, good health, safe travels, wonderful bounty, etc., etc.). Pretending to keep our eyes closed, my brother Manny and I would try to make each other laugh, which wasn’t hard when my dear grandmother would start on how thankful she was for the birds, the trees, cats and sunshine.