"and that's why we are never going back ever again."
a chorus of laughter spilled from our mouths like rich fountains.
the table was abundant in foods of all kinds.
"hey can you pass me the corn?"
"sure."
there was chatter all about.
i excused myself from the table to see what the rest of the house was up to.
i looked to the living room to see the children running gleefully. some had their noses pressed against the cold window pane to watch the early flakes fall.
tiny giggles trailed behind each of them.
in the kitchen, my mother and father cooked and hummed while slowly shaking their hips side to side.
i rushed back out so that they wouldn't hear my laughing.
"are you okay?" my brother asks, looking at me as if i'm odd.
"yeah. i'm great," and for once, i meant it.
i made my way back to the dining room (dodging a few mobile childs).
cousins, first cousins, seconds cousins, aunts, uncles, grand-parents (even the ones so special, they get to be called great).
where i adopted my sense of humor,
who my aloofness stems from,
where my weirdness came from.
it's as if they all hold a piece of me somehow (but maybe not the younger ones).
it's a patchwork, taking pieces of cultures and personalities, that creates a warmth like no other.
the warmth that can only be generated by relations,
blood or marriage,
the love from family.
♥
