We are family

Today was a sunny day, warm for the winter we've been having, and my husband took his camera and went off in search of good blogging photos for me. His search brought him to these sycamores, stretching their whitened arms toward the bluest of winter skies.

I spent the day getting organized after having been away for the weekend in Memphis, TN, visiting with my family. My brother lives there with his wife and three children, ages 17 to 8, and my sister came from Maryland, with her three children, ages 16 to 9. My parents flew from Puerto Rico and we all convened at my brother's new and spacious home.

I ate so much this weekend that this morning I rushed to the gym to attempt to get back in shape before my new semester starts in two weeks' time. There's a lot of calories from fat to burn not only because of the Chik-fil-A Chick-n-minis I ate for breakfast (even after I had had breakfast at the hotel with my parents Saturday morning) but because we all pigged out that afternoon at Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken, which is a must-go when in Memphis. I not only happily stuffed myself with five gloriously fried chicken wings, plus two large scoops of perfect mashed potatoes, but I also topped it off with a sweet potato pie that while it failed to reach my anticipated levels of scrumptiousness (I've had much better in Cincinnati) did do the trick of placing a perfect punto final to a deliciously fattening meal.

My sister-in-law had prepared two bottles of perfect coquito, just the way I like it with very little rum, which my sister and I downed like tomorrow would never come. I actually don't even care if the drink has rum in it, I just crave the mix of coconut, condensed, and evaporated milks, spiced up with cinnamon and a teaspoon of vanilla. You can imagine the calorie count on that one, though.

Over the weekend, the whole family gathered often around the kitchen table not just to eat but also to play "Catchphrase," at which my youngest, 8-year-old nephew excels, and "Apples to Apples," a game that has given me the reputation of being the "worst judge in the world" because I "cheat" (that is, I give the win to the littlest ones, usually, or the ones who are losing miserably). We also sang our lungs off to the tunes of the Jesus Christ Superstar musical and, of course, told many stories of the kids as they were growing up, and of ourselves when we were children.

On Sunday, the Puerto Rican pasteles that my mom express-mailed were brought out of the freezer and were boiled to perfection, accompanied by my mom's white rice. I ate two pasteles, huge as Cadillacs, with two servings of white rice. My sister and I finished off the last of the coquito. And I played with my youngest niece and nephew and her plastic wobbly-headed large-eyed oddly colored menagerie.

I was Magellan, The Queen, a white, blue-eyed cat that wears a tiara and pink shades, while my youngest nephew was the valiant Taco, a chihuahua, on a pink skateboard.

"You are my knight in shining armor," I told Taco, while playing the part of Magellan, The Queen.

"I don't want to be a knight!" he protested.

"Being a knight is a good thing," I explained.

"I want to be El Zorro!" he insisted.

"OK," I relented, "You'll be Taco El Zorro!"

He was appeased and continued playing, while my crafty youngest niece did her best, in the guise of a very well-groomed gray squirrel, to topple the reign of Magellan, The Queen.

My mother loves it when we all gather together because of the memories we make, and even during the few days I was there, we sure made a lot of good, happy memories. Of course, the din and the noise and the ruckus is beyond anything I can describe, and so different from our quiet, rather sedate life here that I sometimes feel like running and hiding, but it's sure worth it for the memories, as my mami says.

I hate traveling and don't enjoy being long away from my husband, who stays behind to man our house and tend to the furry children, so while I was sad to see my brother, sister and mother walk away from the security gate when they dropped me off yesterday, I was not sorry to get back home to my quieter routines. For me, the best part of traveling is returning to home base.

Still, I am truly blessed to have such a large, boisterous, close, and loving family, and for that I give thanks each and every day. And while I am now back in Ohio and won't be with them in Memphis (for New Year's Eve, my mom, sister and sister-in-law are planning a turkey dinner, which I'm sure will be para chuparse los dedos), when we put this year to rest and open our eyes to 2009, they will be with me, filling my heart with gladness, just as if we were all together, always.