the grand prize for making the trek to texas is a tiny athletic, artistic, comedic powerhouse named kathie. yep. she is someone easy to look up to and doesn't have a condescending bone in her body. i am sure her day is filled with many "hey kathie, can i ask you a quick question, i figured you're the one that would know this." she is full of valuable information and offers it up in a warm natural way. we talk about fear and sadness but in the same conversation we are very much like middle school aged nerds laughing at farts and such. my random break out in ghetto soul singing doesn't bother her and she seems to appreciate my attempts at hip-hop shaking of the booty. she even let me meet some of her homies. rad homies. super rad welcoming homies.
i really hit the gift jackpot this year. i got some big stuff, but there are a few little things that all equally had me smiling and fighting back some tears. little simple things like measuring spoons, a sifter, perfectly dainty earrings, a peewee herman sweatshirt, a book oprah told me to read. these unexpected perfect for me things really got to me. but there is always that one present that stands out each year. this one easily stands out. it came in the form of a calm, helpful, thoughtful, assertive, beardy brother-in-law. it's weird, i know. but easy to explain.
something happens when you are visiting family and trying to get 10 people to the same location at the same time. there is always someone holding up the flow and having a struggle. this time around it was me. it is never me. i don't like people waiting for me even though i am married to a wonderful guy that usually excels at that particular role. i was slow moving, and sluggish. and cloudy from not enough sleep because of a very uncharacteristically grumpy needy 2 year old. she was super clingy to me and i sort of always wanted to take the easy way out and just stay home. taking care of this 2 year old is my full time job that wears me down and gets me flustered esp when people are waiting. this time around the usually least patient family member turned out to be the relaxed helpful one. keeping a breakdown at bay and literally swooping in in a flash and fixing the cranky 2 year old in an instant. sort of taking her by surprise and being patient with her. taking her and letting her be a 2 year old. without me having a second to say "oh no, that's ok i got her" it started our 2nd night there when we ran out to get donuts and left her with uncle matt ("uncle-ma") and i wondered if she was being a handful. when we got home she was asleep on his lap. the rest of our stay he just sort of fixed her with calm uncleness. and that means a lot to a mom that is constantly around her kids. constantly. it is weird to sort of channel matt's baby-whispering now that we are home. esp since matt is one of my favorite people to dish shit out to. who dishes it back quite easily.
other wonderful things happened on our trip that had me reminiscing about funny things that happened in my childhood. thanks to a few talks with my niece and nephew. but that gets its own post.
