With sushi and a ‘practice’ turkey for dinner the night before Thanksgiving, my holiday this year was a bit out of the ordinary. While it was full of friendly faces and great food, it took place 1400 miles away from home.

Rather than spend the time at my uncle’s place on Cape Cod, we decided this year to enjoy Turkey-Day in the south. So, surrounded by five nieces and nephews, four siblings and my parents I spent five days on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

What did I learn - other than playing golf in November is a decadent treat? I found out that being around my nieces and nephews for an extended period was very eye-opening.

First off, stress affects children differently

Across the board, my nieces and nephews are amazing. I know everyone says that, but all of them are well-behaved and brilliant. I was surprised at how much fun the five of them had playing together and how they looked out for each other.

What got my attention, though, was that their stamina for socializing was eerily similar. Seriously. When you’re an uncle and you only see your nephews or nieces for short stints, you might not get to see them in every mood. While away on an island I got to see the kids run the gamut from happy pancake faces to whining and weeping, overtired beach boys and girls.

The lesson here? Be happy as an uncle that most of the time you get to see your nieces and nephews when they’re in good moods and on good behavior. The frowns and pouts often are the purview of their parents.

Second, watching children never stops

Regardless of the venue, as an adult you’re in charge of watching the kids. Your nieces and nephews will be energetic balls of motion when you’re on the beach, at the pool or even at the mini golf course.

This vacation included a stop at Disney for my sister and her kids. And after hearing stories of how my mother helped herd the kids through various amusement parks, I was scared a little.

Was I - as the amateur uncle (is there a pro rank for uncles?) - going to be able to keep nieces and nephews together and safe when given that responsibility away from home? Luckily, we spent most of our time together with parents nearby. The only real escape and private uncling I got to do was lemon hunting with Whit at the lemon tree behind my parents house.

I appropriately protected my little nephew from errant golf balls - the house is on a golf course - and was able to teach him the proper way to remove ripe lemons from a tree. It was like being a teacher, protector and friend all at the same time. Oh, yeah. That’s the definition of uncle, isn’t it?

Finally, spend some time enjoying holidays yourself

The reason we took the trip was to reconnect as a family - nieces and nephews included. But a holiday vacation is a recharge time for everyone. Were I to forget that, I’d be less of the great uncle I purport to be.

This trip I ate well, did water aerobics with some senior citizens, played the aforementioned golf, and enjoyed my family entirely. With energy revived, I turned my attention to my nieces and nephews.

From serious conversations over quartered grilled cheeses with nephew George, to timing Whit on his bike ride around the circle, to a football debate with Charlie - the nephews and I got alone great.

And with the nieces, I shared jelly-beans, pink milk and nametag placement on Thanksgiving Day.

All in all, if you get the chance to travel with family, do it. And make sure your nieces and nephews come along...now that you know what to expect.