So, another family celebration.  We all talk at once so no one hears anyone else’s opinion.  When we don’t want anyone to argue with us, we start our opinions with, “unencumbered by fact or information.”  Of course, no one is really listening. 

At one point we were talking over each other about which candidates won the run-off primaries in New York City.  My 7 year-old son asked innocently, “who did you vote for and why?”  So we all talked at once but at some point we fell quiet when my brother-in-law was explaining in earnest to my son the differences between the investment strategies of candidates Yassky and Liu, and the issues of defined benefit plan. 

Trying to stop my brother-in-law from needlessly getting over-wrought at the flagrant injustices of our system and my son’s seemingly impassive expression, I kept interjecting, “he is only seven” and “he was born in 2002” and finally, “you need to be more specific about the meaning of the defined benefit plan and the applicable law.”  It took my brother-in-law a minute to realize the joke.  By this time, my son had already tuned us out and was reading his magazine.

The good news is that Dad was just happy that three generations were gathered around the table, celebrating his birthday, and my sister let him have a second glass of wine.  (And, since we weren’t really listening to each other, we can have the same conversation on Sunday night when we have our weekly family dinner.)  

Another successful family gathering.