Singing grace

There are certain holidays each year that we celebrate with my dad’s family, the family that is too close to be described as extended but it would confuse other people if I described them as immediate family. As I’ve grown up I’ve learned that this closeness and these traditions aren’t “normal”.

Apparently most families don’t sing “God Bless America” every year before they sit down to hamburgers and hot dogs on the 4th of July. Every year my grandfather would start the family singing that song, despite the fact that he couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. After my grandfather died, the responsibility fell to my mom.

So this year my mom will lead our cacophony of voices in "God Bless America" and I will be proud that we aren't your normal family.