We (Dad, Mom, Ashwini, Tejas, and me - Sudhir) started to build our new home in July 2003. After 2-1/2 years, the house was complete, and we moved into our new home in March 2006. The entire family on Indira's and Sripad's side was invited to share Thanksgiving 2006 in Macon.

We wanted to share this special day with the entire family, but unfortunately due to individual circumstances, only 25 members of the family were able to attend. The weekend started with the arrival of Uma, Ramakrishna and Kirana on Wednesday evening. They drove from San Antonio, Texas, with a layover in Baton Rouge, LA.

On Thursday morning, Vasu, Bhagya, Pratibha, Padma, and Gopi arrived at around 12 noon. They drove from Annapolis, MD with a layover in Columbia, SC. Susheela and Bhava also arrived at the same time.

Indu, Chidambara, Pramod, Meera, and Aman arrived a couple of hours later. They drove from New Jersey with a layover near Charlotte.

In the early evening, Prasad, Jayanti, Sowmya, Aruna and Narayan arrived. They also drove from New Jersey, with a layover in Chapel Hill, NC.

Before describing the weekend, I must commend, and thank every member of the family who drove such long distances to spend this special weekend with us. We truly appreciate all of you taking time off from work and making the effort to spend Thanksgiving in the Gokul.

As the folks arrived, we gave them a "quick" tour of the house, followed by lunch. Since they had all driven such long distances, they were all very hungry and tired. After everyone rested, we started to pop open a few bottles of wine, which was enjoyed by a majority of the attendees. This was followed by a slow relaxing dinner.

On Friday morning, a small "ladies religious ceremony" was conducted in the "pooja room", followed by lunch. During the afternoon, people played cards, played ping pong, played billiards, watched a couple of movies in the home theater, and played carrom.

In the evening, Meera took over the role of "chef" and prepared "Yumi Yumi Samosa Chat". This North Indian dish was accompanied by a North American favorite - Margaritas. Aman took over the role of "bartender", and served generous helpings of Tequila with each drink.

After dinner, we all got dressed up for a "portrait sitting", where everyone got "family portraits" taken in front of the fireplace.

On Saturday morning, everyone got dressed up so a family group picture could be taken. After the photo session, some of the folks started to head back to their respective homes. Vasu, Bhagya, Pratibha, Padma, and Gopi left for Asheville, while Prasad, Jayanti, Sowmya, and Narayan left for New Jersey.

On Sunday morning, Indu, Chidambara, Pramod, Meera and Aman left for New Jersey. On Monday morning, Uma and Ramakrishna left for San Antonio, while Aruna and Kirana left for New Jersey.

Once everyone left, the weekend seemed like a "dream". It is very heart warming to think back on the weekend. Although there was no "event" planned, we all had a lot fun just sitting around, talking, eating, playing and drinking. We hope the other family members who were not able to attend will make some time to come down to visit us in Gokul. Hopefully, such family "get togethers" will continue to occur as such events will bring the family closer, not only in body, but in spirit and mind. To paraphrase on old saying, "without family, you have nothing". Luckily, with our family, I feel I have everything. Thank you all for making Thanksgiving 2006 a weekend we will never forget.