Ravioli Night is heaven!

I am fortunate to come from a close family. My mother's side is 100% Italian (insert greasy, hairy jokes here). We try to get together often. With there being so many of us, it's not always easy to do. But there is one day a year that we are always together. Ravioli night.

Ravioli night is on Fat Tuesday each and every single year. It's the one day of the year that we all look forward to. My grandmother and all her 'cooking assistants' spend two days preparing the feast.

We eat Homemade Raviolis (which are to die for). We eat too much, we drink too much wine and we talk too loudly.

Every year I silently look around and observe each and every one there. Every year I am amazed. Amazed by how many of us there are, amazed that one house can be filled with so much love and laughter. Amazed to hear what may have happened in someone's life that I haven't yet heard. Amazed to see how much the kids have grown. Amazed that I may not have seen someone for months and we bond like we were together yesterday.

But the one I watch the most is my grandmother. She sits and watches and takes it all in. She has created this day, these lives and this joy. Every day, I am amazed by her. And I know that my grandfather is looking down on us from heaven and is amazed too.

To most, a crowded house full of loud talking, wine drinking Italians would be enough to make someone want to jump out of a window. To me, it's heaven.