A healing journey east

As I get older (currently 26.5...shut up), the call for unity over powers me.  I quasi-spontaneously traveled east ward for a few days of bliss in the company of friends, family and music.  My family has an unsurmountable amount of unrest within it.  Although in numbers we may be large, we have segmented off into small clusters.  I have a brother, who passed away at the tender age of 16.  I have a half sister, who I have never met.  I have 11 aunts and uncles who I have not seen since I left the Phillippines.  It all tears at my heart.  I went east to Northern MD to reconnect with my Auntie who I have not seen in 15 years.  Our goal was to cook a feast and drive it down to southern MD to my sisters home.  Unbeknownst to my Auntie, I convinced my brother to fly in from FL for dinner.  I picked him up at the plane station and brought him with me to surprise Auntie.  The look on her face as she greeted us was worth the weight in gold.  A gamut of emotions from confusion to recognition, to utter elation..then the tears.. they flowed and the embraces were powerful and nourishing.
In typical Auntie fashion, she began cooking the day before our arrival. A feast for kings!

And she continued to make more!  She was disappointed in the amount of food JR and I could pack away.  "You eat like birds!"  I reassured her that Arlene will be able to consume an amount similar to 4 lumberjacks. (I hate her.. and her thin butt)  Dinner at Arlenes was stupendous.  I could feed off of the love of family til the end of eternity.  We laughed and ate and embraced and..ate...

It was all over too soon.  I still had many more long over due hugs to get through in the short amount of time that I was visiting.  There are friends that the distance has come between us.  The memories are still vivd in my minds eye.  I stayed with Kristin in DC and met her amazing Husband Francesco.  Their meeting is what I deem the greatest love story of all.  A chance meeting while they were both in Mexico on vacation with their friends.  She spoke no Italian, he spoke no English (except for a perveted joke about a monkey and a banana)  .. and today married, having already celebrated their 1 year anniversary.  Fra is (in glorious words) Fucking Awesome.  We were able to spend some time together.  I took him to the Dr.s office, he made me some rice.  Instant friends.  They are a great couple.  With a unusually clean apartment :)

 We traveled back to DC to reunite with MacKenzie.  8 years it has been.  She is as beautiful as I last have seen her.  We ate Pho, leanred of Fra being the bacon whisper, laughed and shut the place down.  Because that is how we roll.  I hope to be able to spend more time with Kenz my next passing through.  There were just way too many people to see and not enough time in a day to see them.  I'll have to go back.  Life is too short to let the distance get between you.  I love and very much miss all my east coast family and friends.  Blessed be to all of you!