We’ll be heading to the vast cultural wasteland—but a shopper’s and politician’s paradise—of Baton Rouge on Turkey Day to spend time with my siblings, their families and my mother.

I’m the appointed “macaroni and cheese” maker. It’s my favorite holiday food, next to the turkey and sweet potatoes, and I make it like my mama made it, with lots of shredded Colby and sharp cheddar cheese, canned evaporated milk (it’s a must for it to turn out right), butter and eggs. That’s pretty much the recipe, except for the macaroni, and seasonings of course. No white or cheese sauce in my macaroni! Anathema!

Thanksgiving isn’t really about food, though, to me. It’s one of the few times I get to socialize with my brothers and sisters throughout the year. Although my two sisters live in Baton Rouge and Lacombe, we’re too busy to see each other very much, unfortunately. My sisters, my mother and I share the same (evil) sense of humor, and whenever there’s a family gathering, at least one of us will get literally hysterical laughing over something really stupid. But that’s the way my family is, and I love them for it. It’s not to say that my brothers (I have five) don’t share in the family humor, but geez, they’re guys and there’s just something about women’s ability to talk intimately that allows us to let loose and be really silly, lay open our snarky streaks, and just plain cackle. So I really look forward to our holidays.

My daughter won’t be with us this year—she’s in Arkansas, visiting her dad and my granddaughter—and she’ll be sorely missed, as she’s pretty much the youngest of my mama’s daughters: she’s only a few years younger than my youngest sister, my mother helped raise her, and she’s got the same goofy sense of humor.

Families are really wonderful things, aren’t they? I am lucky to be a member of a large family and have a lot of people I can share common memories with, old memories and new. I’m privileged to be able to call the OffBeat staff my family as well; we are all very close, as the staff of a small magazine needs to be. I’m even more blessed to be able to call the members of the New Orleans music community my friends and extended family, and I’m thankful and thrilled to be able to call many of them my friends.

New Orleans musicians will do just about anything for each other. Yeah, they bicker and fight and bitch sometimes, but don’t all families? But when someone is sick, when someone needs help, I’ve seen this community come together time and time again to help their own. In fact, I’ve never quite experienced anything like it in my life and I am lucky and blessed to be considered part of this family.

So my thanks this year is for the support that we all give to each other, and the invisible ties that keep us together as a community. It’s a beautiful thing, and something to be incredibly grateful for.

May you and yours experience the communion that exists in our New Orleans musical family in your family. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!