Merging of Worlds Survival

Woo hoo! What a relief! We survived thanksgiving week and no one got hurt. It was a close call a couple of times. My sister and husband had Adele's "Hello" on stand by just in case things got rough (if you don't get the reference, search "Adele hello SNL skit" on you tube. It will make you laugh).Last week was a wild week, we hosted two meals back to back and a total of 38 people in our home. One was on Thanksgiving Thursday with a lot of our immediate family. The next day we entertained a group of my husband's relatives who came into town. This particular group of family members are Jehovah's Witnesses and didn't celebrate with us on Thanksgiving day.When getting a big group of people together from different cultures and backgrounds, I can't help but want everyone to get along and avoid potentially uncomfortable conversation topics. I want all guests to be happy, have a good time, and leave with full bellies; that's the goal for any hostess afterall. It was particularly worrisome given that most of our family members are outspoken, very opinionated, loud, proud, and individually unique.In just my immediate family alone, our beliefs vary in religion, political affiliations, diet, lifestyle, you name it. Some of us siblings were raised by different mothers, we're different generations, some born in two different countries, raised with different philosophies, etc. Now throw in a new set of added relatives from another culture and their own perspectives and watch the fun unfold.These were just some of my worrisome thoughts over the course of last Thursday and Friday:

• My very Catholic mother and a Jehovah's witness group of people engaging in a conversation about saints, the virgin Mary, the bible, or all of the above.
• My vegan sister threatening my youngest sister's new lactose intolerant boyfriend to try her vegan carefully prepared dishes and arguing about what the "dairy free" label on food really means.
• My husband, his best friend, and my brother ganging up on my youngest sister's new Caucasian boyfriend. I envisioned the scene from the movie Bad Boys II in my head although I'm certain it went nothing like it (youtube this one too if you haven't seen the movie).
• My sister and her fiancee's lesbian relationship and their appropriate public display of affection. We approve and love them, everyone else in our home better be okay with it or else.
• Are people using coasters on my wooden coffee table?
• My philosophy college major of a brother starting up a conversation with anyone about politics, religion, or any controversial topic he likes to instigate for fun and giggles.
• The merging of my husband's southern culture and my latino culture- who will say something about the lack of Panamanian food on the table? Will people like my take on the collard greens?

Every single one of my worries played out but everyone semi surprisingly got along. Recipes were exchanged, my sister's new boyfriend survived the "man talk" and didn't need to take the backup benadryl we had just in case he accidentally ate something with a little dairy in it, and most importantly there are no rings on my coffee table. Has every family get together been as great as this one? Absolutely not! Has anyone ever cried? Oh yes! Plenty!Yes, there are lots of things our family members have in common. We're all bound through another member of the family whether through marriage, blood, a long standing friendship that automatically makes you a family member through our eyes, or just pure love.The important thing to take away from all of this is that it's ok to disagree on things. It's ok to have different beliefs. We each have our own unique perspectives and perceptions based on individual experiences we've had. It's even ok to ask about people's cultures if you're curious. Asking is the best way to learn- just be tasteful about it and respect the differences. Carry this message not only at family gatherings but everywhere you go.Do you have similar worries when getting together with a large group of family members? What worried you this past week when merging worlds and people?