Re: My Big Fat Greek Family Reunion
I took Beej down to Galveston, Texas to meet the family for the first time.
Not my Mom and Dad and sisters (they already met), but THE Family: My mom's six sisters and their husbands and kids, and THEIR spouses and kids, and anyone else we've picked up on the way.
My grandmother was from Mexico, but my grandfather was from Greece, and the cultures blended seamlessly.
It's always funny for me to see how people react to my family. Everyone sat down and made Beej watch "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", because he'd never seen it before. It's pretty accurate.
First of all, everyone goes down to the Gulf of Mexico, which is where my grandfather used to fish, for a week-long family reunion every year. I say "family reunion", even though we all get together three times per year (Christmas, Easter, and "Beach Week") and 80% of the family lives within 30 miles of each other.
There are a disproportionate number of people named John (Yanni) or Jane (Juana). John Garza, John Packard, John Furnace, John Ellis, John "Butch" Grace, Juana "Janie" Silva, Janie Garza, etc.
Half the family spends the week on the beach, playing golf, and engaging in other beach-type activities, while the other half spends the entire week in the kitchen, cooking for everyone. It's not uncommon for someone to say, "That was a great breakfast. When's lunch?"
Beej took it pretty well, and everyone liked him a whole lot. I was very impressed by how he handled the nosiness, the raucousness, the late nights, the mischevious boy cousins, sleeping on the floor in the dining room, the sound of an unknown number of kids under ten high on sugar, being drafted into judging the children's talent show, the petty squabbles, the monster mosquitos, and the humidity.
By the end of the week, everyone has seen just about all they want to see of one another for the rest of their lives. And they're talking about who's going to be sharing a beach house with whom next year.
11:50:06 AM 
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