Love is Thicker Than Blood

Revelations

I come from a big family - seven kids, and I am "number five" in that long line up! Not quite enough for a baseball team, but I know, you don't hear of many families my size any more! In the 1970's most families had four kids, so it wasn't quite as crazy as it seems today. We were happy and other than some minor scuffles and teasing, there was never any big friction between any of us.

Sister + Sister + Sister!

I love my sisters unconditionally - they are a smart + chatty bunch! Gotta admit that it is hard to get a word in, but most of the time the conversation is interesting - so not so bad to have to sit and listen ;) The topics for our recent girls' weekend: incest, anti-lesbian smack talk, and extended rants about all of the losers in the workplace! Really - I am not kidding on this - maybe the full moon doesn't bring out the best in everyone...

I spoke up on all counts to try and shut this down: "I am not comfortable with all of this talk about abused children", "I have a lot of gay friends and I don't think those women being unprofessional has anything to do with their sexual preference"; "I have never worked with people like that -- I guess I work in a pretty good environment!" -- all for naught, I was talking to myself. Whatever happened to asking about each other's kids, hobbies, doing nails, singing songs etc.? I really feel like someone stole the love outta the air last weekend!

Four Years of Waiting

Know what really bites? It has been over four years since we all were together, and I was so excited for our weekend getaway. I ran around and looked for the perfect keepsake for each of them. Finally, I found these little hand-blown glass pendants that you can place a few drops of essential oil in -- I bought a small vial of Rose Otto because it smelled like the wild roses that grow in the country, a reminder of our childhood years. No two pendants are alike - just like we girls, I thought - PERFECT!

Two of the girls had no interest in even trying the fragrance, none of them said thank you and one lost her pendant somewhere in the cottage (not sure if she ever found it). What can I say? Not the end of the world, it's just stuff... I know, but I guess sometimes reality doesn't match our expectations, and although we are siblings I guess we are all just coming from very different places. That's not always bad, but... hell, let's blame it on the full moon!

What's Cooking This Week?

So, what's the recipe to comfort this kind of emotional train wreck? Man I just can't even think to create anything wonderful with food right now; I am coasting in survival mode - I was going to share my one sister's Satay recipe, but somehow it doesn't seem as special anymore -- bad karma!

The verdict... this week I am just eating whatever I please in moderation and reminding myself that their choices are not mine, that their words are not mine and that we all can have "less than stellar" moments. I can be loving and tolerant, I can delight in the unique characteristics of others and enjoy their company -- I am not defined by family dysfunction and I don't have to feel badly for my choices. At least I took a few nice photos while out in the country -- so that was a high point!

Wow! I feel like parts of the sister weekend were a weird dream. I just need a few days to re-group xo!