So I survived the family reunion. It was almost tolerable.
Let me give you an example of how narrow these people can be. I was sitting in the hospital waiting room last week with some of my dad’s sisters while others were in visiting with my aunt who is ill. This young woman was sitting in the waiting room for her friend who was soon to finish her shift working on that floor. The woman sitting there had some beautiful tattoos on her leg. As the two left toward the elevator, one of my dad’s sisters said to her sister some like Why would anyone do that to their body? The other sister replied back with something like Because they’re too stupid to know any better. I’m not entirely sure, but I could swear that I saw the second sister sneer at me while she said it, as my nautical star was plainly visible. For once, I didn’t say anything. First of all, these women are so set in their ways, and they’re so narrow and shallow that it would have been pointless anyway. I can still hear my grandmother saying Judge not, lest thee be judged. For those of you who aren’t of a Christian faith, it’s from the Bible, Matthew 7:1. While I’m hardly a holy roller, I was brought up with some basic, core values that certainly came from my grandmother, and that’s one of them. Who am I to judge anyone? Who is my first aunt, who happens to weigh about 330 pounds, to judge? Who is my second aunt, who is on her third husband, to judge? I believe it was the hip hop group TLC who said There’s only one true judge, and that’s God. So chill, and let my father do his job.
Keep in mind that my dad is the official black sheep of the family. While this is okay, my grandmother told my dad, just hours before she died, that he was the one that she always trusted, and that she knew he would tell her the truth, not what she wanted to hear. Fast forward to the reunion. I ran into my cousin Gloria. I hadn’t seen her in over a year. She’s about seven years older than me. Her mom, the aunt who is seriously overweight, won’t even speak to her? Why? Because Gloria won’t apologize for who she is or what she does. Gloria and her husband have raised two exceptionally bright, respectful, and outgoing children. Gloria’s husband has a good job, and she only works part time so that she can be there for the kids. They’re not afraid to have a good time, and they’re responsible about it. They like to have a couple of drinks now and then, and their kids know this. The kids also have been taught to understand the side effects of drinking, and they’ve been taught to have responsible behavior when they drink, such as ensuring that there is always someone sober to make sure the drunks get home. They also have instilled in their kids that there is an appropriate place and time for things. They also have taught their kids that while its fun to do the same things as your friends, there is also a time to tell your friends that you have to pass on an activity because you don’t think its the right thing to do. You know, this sure sounds a lot like my parents. I like to think that I’ve turned out reasonably well. As I was sitting there, between my parents, no less, we were talking, and I mentioned that the weight I’ve put on the past few years shows that I’m a lot like my dad. I eat what I like and I drank too much beer. Sarcastically, Gloria points at me and yells ‘Sinner!’ Those who are part of my dad’s group of black sheep all bust out in laughter.
Zoom in on my cousin Jeff, and his wife Grace. They’re a bit on the black sheep side, too. Jeff has pretty much taken over my uncle’s business, and my aunts are a bit jealous because my uncle worked his ass off and has done quite well financially. Well, Jeff has five daughters and one son. His second daughter, Kristin, 15, looks like the next black sheep. She’s an artist, and she was wearing oversized black clothes, and she looked kinda metal/goth/punk-ish. She has her labret pierced. I would just love to know what my dad’s sisters thought of that. Grace was telling me that her third daughter has her tongue pierced. But the third daughter is the upbeat, perky cheerleader type. What I saw in Grace is something that I kind of see in Gloria. She not only lets her kids be themselves, but she encourages them to express themselves. But she also make sure they do it within the limits of taste. Grace and I were talking about piercings and tattoos. Kristin was having some redness around her labret, and she told me that they were using a piercing care solution. I passed along the advice that some piercers have given me: Most of those piercing care solutions are alcohol based, and that causes the skin to dry out. Just use an antibacterial soap, and that should take care of it. Anyway, Grace showed me some of her tattoos, of which she has six. As we were talking, she said that she saw this thing on the Discovery Channel, and wants to try it. She asked me if I’d ever heard of people doing suspensions…
I grabbed her hand because I was so excited. I told her that I’m going to the Rites of Passage BBQ in two weeks, and that I’m really excited that I might have an opportunity to do a suspension. We talked about that for quite a long time. Needless to say, I enjoyed talking to Grace.
Now my sister, on the other hand, is in deep shit. You see, I wanted to get out of this, and my mom made it explicitly clear that I would be there. In no uncertain terms, these was not optional, it was mandatory. My sister and her boyfriend went to a fundraising trade show in Cleveland or somewhere in Ohio for the weekend. She promised my mom that they’d be back in time for dinner at the reunion. She never showed. Not only did I miss seeing my niece, but my sister got away with missing mandatory family fun. There will be hell to pay. If nothing else, I have dirt on my sister that I can use for several months. It’s usually my sister who has dirt to hold over my head. Now it’s my turn. 
I was only there for a few hours. I survived. And I don’t have to see most of these people again en mass until next year, Thanksgiving at the very soonest.
Oh, the new windows kick ass. You can actually take the windows out to clean them. It’s awesome. The very front window (see the earlier picture) is a bit of a pain because its so big. I have to take off the screens on the side and lean out to clean the center front. I have another one of that very same model on the side of the house. But aside from those two, all of the bedroom and kitchen windows are a breeze to clean. I like these things.
Anyway, I have a storage chest I need to sand and paint. It’s time to be domestic.