We’re all long past measuring happiness by smiles… It was a quiet and a serious weekend, I was stressed – it was a happy weekend. I spent it with people dear to me, people who welcome me into their homes and who will always be welcome to mine. People whose company I enjoy, people I want to take care of. You win some, you lose some, but this weekend – win.
My parents came up to visit me in school for Junior Parents Weekend, and my dad’s cousin’s family joined us today. They have two bubbly girls, one whom I’ve seen mature a lot over the years. I’m not too into kids or family friends usually, but these two I am really fond of. I treat them like family – which they are, but rather arbitrarily and distantly – what relation is it when their mother is your father’s cousin? I also have a lot of respect for their parents – their mom actually uses her English first name when talking to me, which is interesting. She’s a good woman. The two of them, aside from being very intelligent, are also educated and aware, kind and not awkward. I don’t think generational and cultural clashes happen in that household to as large an extent as in others.
It was so nice to see my parents – both still looking good. I am growing a bit protective of them – yes, they are getting older, and they are starting to show those small signs I’ve seen in my grandparents in years past, signs that turns my mind onto a well-rehearsed route to compassion and pain. But the point is, I love them very much, and I was happy to be with them. I think they are learning to be proud of me in small ways, even if I’m not doing what they wish I were.
This girl. Loves the camera. I pull a lot of fake smiles around third graders, but she can really make me smile – maybe in exasperation, or just in disbelief at how energetic and unabashed she is. But an entertainer’s a entertainer, and makes them laugh however she can, and believe me she is an entertainer and knows it.
My cousins. Mine, mine, mine.
Unrelatedly, I have no self control when it comes to haw flakes.
