I don’t have the luxury of getting to see my extended family very often. We’re spread across a vast swath of the United States, and though we keep in touch by all the modern marvels of Skype and smoke signals, actually getting together is something special.
This week my aunt, uncle and two youngest cousins flew out to good ol’ Virginia for their spring break. Though my break didn’t coincide, I was able to catch up with them for one day during the weekend.
Ideally, I’d tell you about some sort of crazed extravaganza. I’d have some neat story about wrangling a wild moose or skydiving or baking a 12-layer cake. I wish I were that “cool cousin” or “radical niece,” the one who everyone wants to go see on their breaks. I definitely am not that. But any chance to see my extended family is worth documenting.
I first tried to win over my shy cousins at breakfast by attempting to impress them with how much I could eat. I assumed they would be impressed, rather than terrified – but I quickly learned my mistake as they stared at me, wide-eyed and unsmiling, while I tried to cram an entire omelet into my mouth. Clearly, I should have tried to connect with the parents first.
I moved on to boring my aunt and uncle with a diatribe on particle accelerators — not that I know anything about them, I should add. When that failed, I tried to make some inane story of my life interesting enough to relate — but this again proved a flop. In the end, I resigned myself to drinking my coffee and listening to the rest of them lead an actual conversation.
The ladies of the pack then hit the mall — naturally, the most obvious place for a family to spend a Sunday. My grandmother from the other side of the family came and entertained the cousins. It was adorable and touching to watch. I love watching my two families meet.
One of our first destinations was one of those stores filled with every possible kind of jewelry and matching purse and hair doodad, all conveniently organized by color. You walk in and are instantly overwhelmed. What color is my soul? Do I need a parrot-shaped ring? Could I pull off this pink pom-pom scarf? Which way is out?
My cousin and I bonded over matching necklaces, which we reassured each other we would never take off. Ever.
Most of the rest of the trip involved my mom, my aunt and I trying to figure out how to fit so many people in our cars and where exactly to drive these cars to. My cousins looked on, bored, as we debated the merits of various frozen yogurt stores and divvied up the children like trading cards: one for this car, one for that … ooh! I want her! I get her!
In the end, all six of us squished into one car to get ice cream — only to learn that overcrowded cars are not the ideal location to eat ice cream. Too many elbows in the hot fudge! I tried to entertain the kids by acting like the window was attacking me, but I was only successful in giving the car seats a delicious new makeover — complete with Oreo bits and pineapple sauce.
Going back to school left a bittersweet taste in my mouth. More than anything, I wanted to cling to my seat like a toddler and scream at the top of my lungs that I wasn’t going to go — I wasn’t! I tried to justify to myself missing an entire week of school just to creepily follow them around the D.C. tourist attractions I’ve visited a hundred times.
In the end though, the semi-tearful goodbyes were nice. I had been around just enough to bore them without becoming a nuisance. Even if it wasn’t a day for the history books, or perhaps even the scrapbooks, it was one of the few I’ve spent with them. I can look down at my matching necklace — that I will wear every day — and smile.
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Emily’s column runs biweekly Wednesdays. She can be reached at e.churchill@cavalierdaily.com_
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