I don't think we celebrate often enough. We don't throw enough parties, have enough friends over or share enough dinners with family. I remember as a child going to friends of my parents for their family celebrations. It was a large Italian family in eastern Pennsylvania. They would set a huge table out under the trees on their property. Twenty or thirty people would arrive about the same time the pasta was ready. We'd descend upon that communal table with great hunger and great joy. There would be tales told and jokes shared. The wine would flow. The children ( myself included) would play throughout the afternoon on the grass near by as the adults sat back relaxed and enjoyed the afternoon and the company. It was wonderful.
While on a trip to Italy, 9 years ago, I soaked in that same joy. I saw people everywhere celebrating family. They played together in the parks, lunched under trees and dined in the late evening with friends over bottles of wine. They laughed and they chided one another. They shared life and love with everyone and you couldn't help but enjoying life with them by just being in their presence.
When I was in Italy I remembered those childhood dinners with our friends and experienced that same joy in the families around me. One evening, while at dinner with my traveling companions, a rather large family entered the same little restaurant. They were big and boisterous. They took up several tables and began ordering. In America, we might have been offended by their presence...not in Italy. Their fun became our fun. Their celebration was ours as we were included, strangers from another country, in their joy.
Last month, on my return home, our little family gathered for my youngest son's birthday. It was a happy occasion and I was ready to share it with anyone who wanted to join in. Below is a picture of us, at the end of our dinner. It was a celebration of a birthday but more it was a celebration of family. We enjoyed the meal...but we enjoyed one another more. Jokes were told. Stories were shared. Debates were had. And there was much laughter and much joy. I share it with you as others have shared with me. 
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