Open Art

Fella, Sugar and i are visiting my Aunt and her fam in san antonio this week. Esposo hooking up with us on friday. started the vacay by getting up before 5 a.m. two days ago. we are all still a lilttle sleep deprived. when i woke up too early again this morning, i thought about how lucky i am to belong to my family. Momma and her sisters are fiercely independent, sharp as tacks and damn funny. not to mention, we all chose husbands (or they chose us) who are also really funny. after analyzing an unfortunate "open art" experience yesterday afternoon, it hit me how grateful i am for my loving, accepting and hilarious family.

yesterday afternoon, Aunt and i were going to leave my babies for an hour or two at an art studio her friend owns. upon our arrival (in our crisp white tees), we found out it was not a drop off option (as her friend implied) but open studio time where we had to participate with the chirruns. needless to say, we were not prepared and had to begrudgingly switch gears.  instead of an iced coffee and browsing a cool boutique, we found some large aprons and withstood 45 minutes of a small, crowded, messy space . halfway through, i turned to Aunt and said "this is when i want a glass of wine or at least to know that we are going to have a glass when we get home after enduring craft time."

when i was working on my relapse plan before i left outpatient treatment, i half-jokingly told my counselor that tedious craft time could definitly trigger a relapse. i had just made a gingerbread house with my then four-year-old Fella. my kids are not deprived in the creative arena. i do little artsy things with them every week and they are fortunate to go to an idyllic reggio emilia based preschool where their days are, or were before last week, full of artsy shite. it's just not my thing.

so as i drank my coffee this morning, i felt overwhelmed with gratitude for my family. it's a family that embraces our flaws and celebrates our individuality. we constantly make loving jabs at each other. we are spread out all over the place - Momma in los angeles, Tia in memphis and Aunt in tejas - and we are constantly on the phone with one another. we have an honest, intimate relationship and depend upon each other to make decisions and to make it through the "open art" moments. i can count on my family (and the witty men we chose) to listen, laugh and lighten my world.

a few other things popped into my head for which i am grateful:
--the image of my babies' perfectly round naked bottoms flying past me as they chase each other
--the image of unsightly french pedis are finally less frequent this summer
--the image of my babies sleeping soundly as i go downstairs to quiet my noisy head

over the next few days, i will hook up with some dear, old girlfriends (spent my 20s working in PR at a giant high-tech firm in austin) i haven't seen in about five years. chicas who i can count on and who are also damn funny.

so, early this wednesday morning, i am the most grateful for those in my life (and it's pretty much a prerequisite) who possess a wicked sense of humor.