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Waking up just before 11 a.m.
We brought homemade Oat and Almond Biscuits to share with the Smith household. Patty, my dad's wife, has her sister staying here with her two sons. As well, Jennifer has her boyfriend, Luis, here. Scrambling some Eggs to go with our meal. Sipping on Coffee.
Little Manuel is on this joke kick asking me to tell him jokes. My dad blurts out in his classic wise-guy attitude, "Wanna have some fun? Pull your pants down and run!" I always catch him saying these things I remember him saying to me when I was a little boy. He's got an arsenal of them.
By the Christmas tree we exchange presents. I always try to write out something genuine on the cards I give. I can tell my dad really appreciates his card cause his eyes get watery. And then Ana opens her card and once again, watery eyes. It feels good to know I can make another person feel loved and appreciated. It's the one time a year when there's no excuse. Ana got me a comfy blue-ish purple sweater from the thrift store. I got her three mugs with old horror film icons on them like Frankenstein, a werewolf, and a vampire. It's funny how we both got each other thrift gifts, the kinds of things we know the other will appreciate.
Ana and I change into workout clothes and instigate physical activity outside. It's a bright sunny Christmas day, a little chilly at first but after getting the blood flowing you can switch to a t-shirt. Jennifer and Ana go for a partner jog around the neighborhood while Luis and I duke it out in a few 1-on-1 games of basketball. Later on, I manage to get my dad off the golf cart and shoot the ball with me. We pretend to play a little bit. It's important to be able to do this with him after all these years. It's like how fishing is considered good father-son time. For me basketball is good father-son time.
Time to smoke some meat! This is meat country here in North Carolina. My dad is trying to learn how to use this new smoker he got. We put on a tray of Salmon filets and pork chops. Patty cooks up a pot of Green Beans and Rice in the kitchen. It all turns out to be a successful meal.
Across the street my dad's neighbor, Keith, introduces us to his hot rod pride and beauty, a 1934 Ford Coup...
While Ana and I try to gather our things Manuel continues bothering us with jokes. He's snacking incessantly on these veggie chips.
"When do you stop eating?" we ask.
"When I go to sleep!" he replies.
We hop in our respective vehicles and drive over to Grimesland where my great-aunt Delores and John D live. This is where most of my dad's side of the family gathers for the holidays. Ana takes the wheel for the hour or so drive while I nap in the passenger seat.
...
When we arrive we immediately take a seat in the dining room and indulge in Aunt Delores's infamous Chocolate Cake and sip on Coffee. Aunt Pansy and her husband, Peter, show up. All the women corral at the table talking about crocheting and painting. Over in the living room the men (Peter, John D, and my dad) talk about the housing market and memories from their hey day. My dad recounts an experience he had back in 1974 how him and a buddy of his used to go drinking at the clubs after work. One night they got invited to a house where a lot of pot was smoked. My dad refused the weed but they offered him tiger balm or something like it – apparently they were told to rub it above their eyes and you get some kind of a high or something. They were driving into Columbia when my dad had to pull over cause "something was wrong with the road!" He cackles while describing this story to the other guys. I like to hear little vignettes like this from his past life. One day I'll be able to recount my own stories to the younger ones. Meanwhile, back at the dining room table the little boy, Manuel, starts announcing a series of raise your hand if statements. "Raise your hand if you like ice cream and cream!" "Raise your hand if you like strawberries!" And it goes on and on. He wasn't lying about cream, or rather whipped cream he meant, cause later on Delores squirts a dollop of whipped cream in his hand and he's in heaven.
...
The hour gets later and we need to depart. Before we go Ana and I fill up on leftover Collard Greens.
On the road back to Virginia Beach I take the wheel. Ana and I talk pretty much the whole time about how our bodies have to deal with the cornucopia of food we consume on the holiday occasions – that's all we do when hanging out with family is sit around and eat. We talk about changes coming up in her life when she moves into 1435 with me. We talk about the different perspectives on pornography and how, even though it's clearly a lustful means to an end, it can also serve a function in society (the problem always stems to overindulgence and addiction to it). We talk about our sexual expectations in each other and draw out some new guidelines to keep our sexual life exciting. In conjunction with this I find a secluded parking lot off US-17 for us to enjoy a little backseat love. For a moment we catch a glimpse of the twinkling stars up in the sky. Without all the usual light pollution from a crowded city they are more visible.
Back home. Settling in and reflecting on the day.
Sleep 4 a.m
[i] All images by me.
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