Wonderful weekend

THIS weekend felt like sunshine and blue skies to me. I won't say there weren't some challenges, but all in all, it was WONDERFUL.

B and I went to visit his brother and his wife Saturday night. They live on the other side of the state, where it is green, and you don't have to water! It was his brother's birthday, so they were having a party for the family.

I was quite nervous at the concept of going; I have a small family, and B has four other brothers (plus their wives, kids, etc.). Crowds usually do me in. I am a shy and quiet sort of person, and it takes me a long time to warm up. Plus I'm the "new girlfriend'.... and I didn't know how many of them had been friends with his ex.

I needn't have worried. All four of B's brothers are like different incarnations of the same person. I was swept in, made much of, and generally welcomed as a member of the family. It was overwhelming, it was amazing, and it felt incredible. At various times over the course of the evening's party, I wandered from room to room into pockets of people sitting and chatting and laughing, listening to the conversations and the reminisces. I laughed at the stories of the boys and their adventures growing up. I jumped into discussions of the challenges of raising children with some of my own tales. I listened to chats about house prices, the roofing job going on next door, how rainy the weather had been, what kind of whiskey was the best. Music was playing, there were two babies being passed around, and the most wonderful food. I talked to B's sister in law and HER sister, who knew someone that volunteers in a group with me back home. (Small world, eh?)

And I listened as they all told B how good he looked... how much younger he looked.... how he seemed like a new man. I watched him move from room to room, seeing how the dynamics of the family worked, how he fit in. It was interesting to note that he is so similar to me in the way he relates to other people. He's the rather quiet one, the observer, the chameleon. I watched him all night long, thinking how proud I was of him, and how good it all felt to be there. I got caught once; his oldest brother has a new hobby of photography (and is quite good), and he snapped a shot of me, with this soft look on my face, staring off camera as if pondering the meaning of life. There's a hint of a smile around my eyes and at the corner of my lips. I'm watching B, my beautiful B.

We went off to bed before the party broke up, falling into the unfamiliar bed with giggles and yawns. All I remember is entangling in that familiar way, and letting the background hum of laughter and conversation from downstairs lull me into a deep, deep sleep.

They have actually accepted me... liked me, even. It was so different than anything I have ever known. No fights, no arguments, no shame or guilt or baggage between them. Just enjoyment at spending time with the people you love. Wow.

We are home, but I will carry this with me for a long, long time.