The holidays in the Shaughnessy family have always been the best time of the year. Starting with the coming of Autumn, every member of the family gets a glow about them. The changing leaves, crisper weather and pumpkin anything are some of what’s special to all of us. Although we look forward to these end months every year, the holidays always bring about a heavier workload. More work leads to less family time, which honestly makes holidays even greater; giving us the time to come together and celebrate.
Jean and Dean hosted Thanksgiving this year. They set up the most amazing spread of cheeses, olives, bread and fruits and pulled 6 chairs to the middle of their backyard, in front of the big stone firepit. The day started there, with a Cage Free meeting, giving us all time to shine a light on the many ways we can all be thankful this year. We spent all day and all night sharing stories, eating, drinking wine, and playing charades for the first time. The time we spent playing charades lead to uncontrollable laughter and inside-jokes for decades to come. Dinner was perfect with a beautiful turkey, mashed potatoes and all the sides. Jean even took the time to write why she was thankful for all of us on the liner of our dinner plates. It’s small details like that, that really made the day special. The picture of us all passed out on the sofas at the end of the night is proof to what a successful family gathering it was.
The next morning we shared breakfast and then all went our separate ways, for now. The stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas is very busy with work and makes it hard to plan any extra activities or get-togethers. We were all able to leave with full hearts, and bellies, and the still lingering anticipation of what we’ve all been working and waiting on for the past few months; Cage Free Vineyards
