Thursday, November 26, 2009

Family Day with the Turkey or Turkey Day with the Family

So, I spent Thanksgiving Eve at my Mom's.  I spent 12 hours baking 20 pies from scratch.  I feel like I ran a marathon.  The family just adored the new baby, and he's crazy for my Mom.  I met my niece's boyfriend.  She's as close to a daughter as I'll ever have, and I couldn't love her more if she was mine. 

It's funny, she was just over a year old when I met my husband (she'll be 18 in January, but I refuse to be old enough to have her actually be that age, so I am still in denial).  She would always tell me that she wanted a boyfriend just like her Uncle.  I thought it was the cutest thing.  Back to the boyfriend, I looked at him and couldn't help but chuckle.  Being the embarrassing Aunt that I am (why should I treat her any different than my sons? I embarrass everyone equally), I told her boyfriend that story.  To my surprise, he said with a smile, "Y'know,I've actually heard that story".  Now, it wasn't rude at all.  He said it with a twinkle in his eye because apparently he is the boyfriend she always wanted, not like the losers before.  Yes, he is really tall and very kind-hearted, just like her uncle.  They have the same way about them, so much so that after my hubby met him, even he noticed the similarity.  Yeah, I love him, but that man doesn't really pick up on things too quickly, so it really is that obvious.  My niece is so proud of the fact that she found one of her own.  Now, I have to have a talk with him about Easter Baskets.

Y'see, Hubby, back in the day, would make me an Easter basket every year.  He would make these wonderfully elaborate baskets filled with all of my favorite things.  He would like the baskets with fabric and put lace around the edges.  He would even make the bows by hand and even separate the good jelly beans so that i would only have the orange ones(they're the only ones I really like).  He was wonderfully romantic.  Of course my niece saw all of this from the first basket on down.  With every basket or wonderful anything she would tell me that she couldn't wait to grow up and get a boyfriend just like that. 

She has been kind of stuck to my hubby since she was little.  Even so, it still shocks me little to see how he is with her.  When she was 14, she came to stay with us for a week or so.  He took her to the grocery store and came home fairly pissed off.  He announced that he is never going shopping with her again.  I thought that she might have had a hormonal freak out moment.  Nope.  Apparently all the boys from 11 to old and pervy followed her around the store.  She is wonderfully oblivious to such things.  Thank God.  Hubby had to stand vigil in his puffed out super hero stance to ward off the toothless losers that I live near.

Oh, did I mention that this girl is a Beauty Queen and ridiculously smart?  Yeah, she's the girl that we all hated in high school.  It wasn't until I saw her cry that I realized that those girls always knew they were hated.  She is the nicest girl, very honest and not malicious at all.  There are some really mean, jealous girls out there.  I was happy to hate from afar in high school, but nowadays, these chicks take it to a whole new level.  But she's stronger and more resilient for it.

Then, last night when Hubby realized that she found her guy just like him, (after not so discretely grilling him for awhile), he gave me that look.  That look that said, she's all grown up.  That look that said she's outgrown her dream of Prince Charming for a real life prince.  That look that said, "she doesn't need me anymore".  I think she must have seen that look too, because just then, my big giant girl gave him a hug and said "I love you Uncle", and was on her way with her very own prince.  At 6'4" my giant teddy bear can scare the crap out of just about anyone. If they only knew how soft he really is.


I love that he loves my family, well, most of them anyway.  I'm really close to my obnoxious kin and love them for what they are, all crazy included. 



HAPPY THANKGIVING

2 comments:

Alan said...

That boy better get started on those baskets.

PrttyBrd said...

I never had the chance to have the talk with him. The last time I saw him (after warning him that it would happen) I was pooped and breastfeeding the baby when he bounced into the room and saw my tata. The boy turned bright red and ran for dear life, with my niece laughing behind him. LOL that poor kid. I hope the sight didn't make the thing shrivel up.