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the Clan O'Brien pt 3: rekindled
Sep. 10th, 2008 05:10 pmOur side of the clan convened for dinner at my uncle's house. Uncle Bill's house has two of about everything: two back porches, two dining rooms, a small TV room and a large TV room. The rec room still has the pool table, but he also added a flat screen TV on the wall. People were everywhere: some of my younger cousins played pool, while I watched football (gasp! shock!) with my father, my sister, and Kimberly. We're a pretty diverse crew at this point. My sister's husband is mulatto, my uncle's wives (both of them) are Philipino, as is my cousin's wife. Every got along very well, there was no fighting or arguing, outside of the usual rivalry that happens in big families. They certainly seem better behaved and friendlier than I was with my sisters.
We dined on leftovers from the gathering, then cleared the table for poker. We played cards into the night, afterward I curled up and watched Bad Boys II, as one by one family members excused themselves and went to bed. The next morning was bright and sunny, I practiced with my staff out in the yard. My short temper is definitely related to whether I've eaten or not. I put down the staff and took a bunch of pictures of my uncle's house. Who knows if it would be there again. I was supposed to leave at noon, but I stayed until 1:30, long enough for everyone to arrive and lunch was served. A few burgers and a bowl of delicious vegan vegetable stew later, I said my many rounds of good byes. My initial rush to leave had faded, and I was feeling genuine regret that I was going. It seems I barely had a chance to catch up with everyone, to let them know what was going on. Little Kayla ran up and hugged my leg as I was saying good bye. Not a day ago she was staring at my shyly the way young kids do. Now she knew my name.
The past few weeks have been rough inside, part of it was the reunion itself. I felt very disconnected from my family, and hard a time time justifying to myself making a long drive just to see people I hadn't seen in years. I made peace with that, and figured it would be nice for them to see me, even if I didn't feel the same. By the time I was leaving, that wasn't the case at all. Everyone was welcoming, everyone asked what I was doing. Sure, some of them were talking about things that I haven't done in years (like the saxophone) but I couldn't have guessed how happy they were to see me. I couldn't have realized how nice it was to see them, how much I still felt like I was part of their family. Regardless of what I haven't done, my marital state, my accomplishments, they were accepting, and happy. They were family.
I very nearly turned around after leaving and stayed longer, but I pressed on into the warm, blissful summer day. The miles flew by as the music played. I am extremely thankful that I took this trip, that I reconnected with my family. I hope it's not another two years before I see some of them again. If I have anything to say about it, it won't be.
We dined on leftovers from the gathering, then cleared the table for poker. We played cards into the night, afterward I curled up and watched Bad Boys II, as one by one family members excused themselves and went to bed. The next morning was bright and sunny, I practiced with my staff out in the yard. My short temper is definitely related to whether I've eaten or not. I put down the staff and took a bunch of pictures of my uncle's house. Who knows if it would be there again. I was supposed to leave at noon, but I stayed until 1:30, long enough for everyone to arrive and lunch was served. A few burgers and a bowl of delicious vegan vegetable stew later, I said my many rounds of good byes. My initial rush to leave had faded, and I was feeling genuine regret that I was going. It seems I barely had a chance to catch up with everyone, to let them know what was going on. Little Kayla ran up and hugged my leg as I was saying good bye. Not a day ago she was staring at my shyly the way young kids do. Now she knew my name.
The past few weeks have been rough inside, part of it was the reunion itself. I felt very disconnected from my family, and hard a time time justifying to myself making a long drive just to see people I hadn't seen in years. I made peace with that, and figured it would be nice for them to see me, even if I didn't feel the same. By the time I was leaving, that wasn't the case at all. Everyone was welcoming, everyone asked what I was doing. Sure, some of them were talking about things that I haven't done in years (like the saxophone) but I couldn't have guessed how happy they were to see me. I couldn't have realized how nice it was to see them, how much I still felt like I was part of their family. Regardless of what I haven't done, my marital state, my accomplishments, they were accepting, and happy. They were family.
I very nearly turned around after leaving and stayed longer, but I pressed on into the warm, blissful summer day. The miles flew by as the music played. I am extremely thankful that I took this trip, that I reconnected with my family. I hope it's not another two years before I see some of them again. If I have anything to say about it, it won't be.
