My interest was piqued when you mentioned that our third paper would have been something of an example of creative non-fiction, so I decided to try my hand at it. This is a brief attempt at capturing a bit of the essence of MY FAMILY.

The thing about the Grossnickles is that when we get together (for every birthday and holiday imaginable), we make a substantially large group... between 12-15 people depending on scheduling conflicts and/or extra guests. And we are LOUD. My grandma's hearing is going slightly, but she refuses to admit it, so we all end up repeating things but just try to talk even louder in general to avoid having to do that... meanwhile my aunts and dad are having a riot exploiting the fact that their mother can't hear the ridiculous comments that are being made, and everyone is all the while sarcastically jabbing each other as the kids (myself included) argue about who gets to sit closest to Grandma's rolls at the dinner table.

Then comes the infamous birthday song... 3 full blown verses, complete with harmony parts. You just have to experience it to understand.

If it's Christmas, we have at least an hour long caroling session during which my Aunt Linda plays the mildly out of tune piano and my Aunt Christine attempts to play the flute alongside it, which makes for an interesting experience, seeing as how she plays it once a year at most. The finale of the carols in my opinion would be a tie between Jingle Bells, where everyone has a bell (all different kinds and tones, my great grandma collected them) and shakes it vigorously during the chorus (did I mention we are LOUD?), or the 12 Days of Christmas, where we divvy up the parts ... and attempt to get my grandfather to remember his line... his personal favorite being eight maids a’ milking, of course eliciting more comments on the side by my uncles and dad, after which they all receive both reproachful looks and laughs from their wives.

Then at every occasion, the cards must be opened before the gifts, and read aloud for ALL to hear. If it is a birthday gathering, then the birthday guest of honor must make the ceremonial first cut of the cake, and will get served first… but is not allowed to eat dessert until all gifts are opened, which of course must be preceded by the card opening. Always a fiasco.

So, the anarchy of present opening occurs, during which the opener can expect to be attacked by what would appear to be Japanese tourists - Wait! No! That's just my Aunt Christine and Grandma with a barrage of flash photography leaving you seeing spots which will no doubt result in terribly unflattering candid shots to be proudly displayed to all upon development. When all is said and done, we might throw in a game or two of Guy vs. Gal Pictionary or more often than not, a euchre tournament! We're a bit of a circus, but I suppose all families are when they get together. We just do it more often than most. I guess we've just got more love than a small get-together can handle.