belated Easter
I was standing on the deck on Easter morning. An hour earlier we were posing for family portraits in that very spot immediately after arriving from seven thirty Mass at St. John's. Now everyone was inside gathered around the kitchen and speaking in painful decibels. It was a non-raining hour which was few and far between over the past few days. Luckily, I had come prepared for the trip by studying weather.com for a week (which is not much different from the ordinary daily idling over the Doppler map) and spraying my shoes with a fresh layer of water repellent.
On the first night we arrived, my Uncle offered my brother-in-law water. When the offer was first refused, my uncle insisted,"are you sure?" and pushed the glass even closer. The glass was out of his collection, one of his prized glasses, depicting various naked women. They looked like women from the 70's with their out-dated long hairstyles and standing infront of the ocean. No matter what the decade, hoo hoos and hee hees always look the same.
It wasn't a shock to know my Uncle had these glasses. I had seen them on my first visit to their house the previous year. I had reached into the cabinet for a clean glass and on eye level, the second shelf, was my Uncle's naughty glassware. On the shelf below was my Aunty's own set, a monogrammed set of D's for the first initial of her name.
I guess every household has their own set of glasses. Way back, I remember having a collection of Looney Toons from Burger King until each one eventually broke. My brother and sisters had a set of Star Wars. Until eventually each one of those broke. And in summers past, my sister would get the latest Action movie of the summer plastic cup from Taco Bell. My tastes have changed since then; my collection now a days are a myriad of cobalt blue glasses and a few bottle green tumblers. Out of my wine glasses, I'm likely to be drinking filtered water or Hawaiian Punch.
If I had anything incriminating, I would've hidden it before guests arrive. And not on the second shelf of the kitchen cabinet. That's for sure.
A few times throughout the week, my Uncle and brother-in-law had a banter while driving. They'd name off Italian actors. Maybe my Uncle had a secret wish to be Italian since my brother-in-law is one. I know I wouldn't mind being a little of something else. I'm learning to follow Italian traditions: red underwear on New Year's, Panatone bread after dinner, a particular kind of large, hollow, chocolate egg with surprise inside on Easter. I wanted to join in their conversations. They didn't know that I'm very big on Sopranos. Somehow, I don't think this would've been something to brag about to my family that I was a closet fan of corruption and violence. This reminds me that I must still buy Season 1 on dvd.
There's a gray line of family peculiarities which borders on grating and endearing. My Uncle is all about cross/search/fill-in-a-word puzzles. He knows one volume: loud. One time when the dvd of the night was being primed for watching, my uncle couldn't get the sound to coordinate with the speakers and tv that when the sound came out it sonic boomed the whole house, including the first floor. His driving and back seat driving hasn't gotten much better than the year before. After being passenger for decades using NYC transportation via bus and taxi cab and more often than not footing it, my Uncle likes being in the driver's seat even if he's not actually in the driver's seat. My Aunty likes to move fast and voice directions. She might still be in New York mode. But she's adjusted well to North Carolina. She misses Macy's and New York style bagels. She now makes banana bread by the loaves and has Uncle drive her for shopping.
We drove home after nearly a week's stay. My sister said it's the right amount of time before people start getting on your nerves. There's some ring of truth to it. Though, I did leave with 2 pounds extra weight, a scattering of photos, nights on a grand sleigh bed lifted high off the ground like royalty and tunes of tango ringing in my ears from my Uncle's blasting stereo system. I'd like this visit to become a yearly tradition around March & April where I migrate from warmer weather to something cooler. Family provide the humor and headache just as I'd have it. There's a certain something something only they can provide. Not to mention, a cabinet full of glassware.
