Monday, July 12, 2010

The Ties That Bind


Being an only child, and the son of an only child, my idea of a large family get together involves about 20 people at a Chinese restaurant. I wouldn't say we are like the white family from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but we definitely aren't the Greek family. I come from a family that doesn't get together or even speak to each other often, but when it comes down to it, we would do anything for each other. My Mother has two brothers and a sister, and between them they have 6 children. From that generation, of which I belong, there are 5 offspring. If my math is correct, if we all got together, on my Mother's side only, there would be about 22 people. If Susan's family got together, on just one side, there would be a cast of thousands. Think the battle scenes from Braveheart. I suppose that's why Susan loves that Greek wedding movie.

The day after the Quinceanera was the traditional Menudo at the home of the newly crowned woman, Brianna. For once, we were allowed to sleep in a bit before heading across town (remember in Albuquerque this only takes 15 minutes) to the family get together. For those of you not in the know, the menudo I'm speaking of is not the boy band that gave the world Ricky Martin, but it is a Mexican soup with the main ingredient being the stomach lining of a cow. It tastes much better than it sounds, but it is a little stinky before you add the lime and chile. The Menudo event however, tends to occur in the Mexican family as a means to extend any party of any kind. After a wedding, "Come to the Menudo at Tia Hortencia's!" After a first communion, "Eh, let's go to the Menudo at primo's!" And of course, after a Quinceanera, "Get your butt up and drive across Albuquerque, even though we saw them 5 hours ago, to the Menudo."

As we drove up to the house, the garage door was open and within it was the typical gathering of men with cowboy hats, large belt buckles, and alligator boots, all smoking and laughing. This group should not be confused with the Hollister shirt wearing, pointy elf boot kids from the day before. Walking past these men and greeting Susan's father, who is typically found within this group, we enter the house to be greeted by the women and children inside. As soon as we enter a table is cleared and bowls of menudo are being shoved my way. I feel like Ray Liotta in the Goodfellas when he brings Lorraine Bracco to the restaurant and bypasses the huge line out front by walking through the kitchen, only to have a table made for him in the front row. It wasn't quite that extravagant, but Susan's family really made me feel welcome and I appreciate it.



Every room of the house was packed to the brim with Vargases. I didn't attempt a headcount, but there had to be at least 70 people there throughout the day. I was later told that this was only a portion of the family. Sitting there, eating my slightly stinky but extremely tasty menudo, I thought about how wonderful it is to have families like this. On my Father's side of the family, the few who are left only get together when someone dies. I'm not sure if these people hadn't seen each other in years or days, but everyone was laughing and talking like they do this everyday. The children, including my own, were playing outside while the women were in the family room and kitchen talking about God knows what. Although most of the men were outside smoking, a few of them, myself included were in the living room awaiting the World Cup Final.

As this is not a soccer blog I will not bore you with the intricacies of the "beautiful game," but I will tell you I enjoyed my time at Susan's cousin's house immensely. Perhaps it was the match, perhaps, it was the food, but I'm almost certain it was the shining example of familial love created by the Quinceanera.



Susan has informed me that my past few posts haven't been as funny as the first few, and although I was unaware of my trying out for Last Comic Standing, I feel it necessary to explain that oftentimes the most beautiful things are hard to poke fun at. This day was one of those times.

2 comments:

  1. Justin, perhaps, not as funny, but certainly insightful and filled with cheers for family. Safe trip to your Phoenix family and then home

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  2. You're opperating under the assumption that Susan has a sense of humor. It doesn't help that she was the butt of a few jokes in the last couple of posts.

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