rare family gathering

Today, as my mum pointed out, all of her surviving immediate family was seated at a table together.

I don't know when this last happened, but my guess is something like six-ten years ago. Getting my brother into the loop is the primary problem since he's a busy fella and lives three time zones away from the rest of us. He regaled us with tales of Sofia and Copenhagen and San Fransisco (the latter being a primary workplace of his). All we had to talk about was stuff that The Boy does.