I wondered among all of these people where Abby had gone. She had gone to get her camera. I kept my eye on her. I felt a special bond with her and I felt like I had to keep her in my vision.
I also wondered where my mother was. I hadn't seen her in over five years. I made my way up to the home. More people, Uncle Robert, Cousin Jeffery, cousins, in laws, one after the other.
I made my way into the house. The house was full of people moving around. Some were getting drinks, some were making food. I called for my mom. My Uncle Robert had come with me, he told me that maybe she was at the other house. So we took a walk over there.
We walked into her little home that is kept by my sister. "Mom?!" I hollered? "Where are you?" My Uncle Robert said that maybe she was in her bedroom changing. So I walked up to her door and knocked.
When I walked into my mom's room, my heart just broke. There she stood in just her bra and panties. She was struggling to put her clothes on. I went to her and embraced her. God, I had missed her so much. So many years had passed between us and here she was standing next to me and I was holding her and hugging her and I never wanted to let her go.
"Here, let me help you get dressed," I said. I helped her put her shirt on, but not before she asked me to scratch her back. I lovingly did so. Anything for my mom. I took in her form. Her body had changed so much. No longer was she the plump momma that I had grown up with, instead, she had the body of a woman who once was strong but now was frail and fragile.
I lifted her shirt over her head and helped her to straighten her shoulder pads and button her buttons straight. I helped her lift one leg at a time into her short pants. Finally, we tucked her shirt in nice and tight.
I scrambled around her bedroom looking for a brush, but I couldn't find one. I searched the bathroom and finally came up with one. I had also ran into some body spray of my niece's who was staying in that house for the reunion. I quickly grabbed some hair spray and the elastic band from my daughter's hair and asked my mother to have a seat.
It felt so good to do this for my mother. For all of my childhood years, my mother had taken care of me, she had put my clothes on, made me smell clean and fresh, and made my hair pretty. I wanted to do the same for her.
Finally, when we were done, we walked over to the 'Big House', which is what I called my sister's home on the adjoining property.
When we walked in, there was a lot of hustle and bustle. I had remembered that I still hadn't sought Abby out again. She was flitting in and out of my view. I had wanted to take a shower, so I went outside to grab my things. After I had cleaned up some, I felt a lot better, but going on such little amount of sleep, I still felt out of it.
Someone handed me a margarita. I was actually glad to have a drink, but no more drinks came my way. I really don't know what happened, but they were either out of alcohol or were not serving it anymore, so that one margarita had to last me.
My mother was sitting comfortably in the living room and so I decided to find Abby, but I kept getting distracted by people. It was a welcome distraction, because after all, some of these people, I hadn't seen in many years.
I kept going outside because my children were playing out there. I have a lot of issues with worrying about my children. There were a lot of woods around and I was worried they'd walk off and get lost or end up in the horse pen and get trampled. Therefore, I stayed outside and chatted with the smokers.
My nephews Joey and Ryan had went to get some beer so I followed them over to Mom's home and took a couple of beers to go. I found out that Ryan is a really great guy. He's funny and charming and very handsome.
Time just kept slipping by and I felt like I was spending too much time outside. It was extremely hot out and the smoke pit was radiating heat like the bowels of hell right next to the patio.
Where was Abby. In and out. Out and in. We kept missing each other. We'd speak for a moment and we'd walk away. Someone would grab her, someone would grab me. Back and forth like swinging on a park swing.
By the time my uncle, aunt and brother were leaving, I remembered that I hadn't gotten any photographs of anyone together. I quickly grabbed my camera and asked them to go back inside.
I was happy that I got some pictures of Mom and her siblings. I only wish that I could have gotten some better photos of everyone. I did manage to get a group shot but it was after some people had already left.
As you can see in the picture above, my mother is holding my daughter Molly. That was very endearing to me because my daughter is very shy. She ended up sleeping on my mom's lap for a really long time.
As the day slowly disappeared into night, Abby showed her skill horse skills and her humor.
And finally, to finish off the day, Ryan serenaded his newly-found Grandma and Aunt next to a roaring bonfire. Abby was proud of her son. He was so proud to be singing with his Grandma. He played song after song. We laughed, we cried, we sang.
After the fire died down, I went to sleep at Mom's house. Abby slept at Connie's. As I went to sleep, I thought about the day and how quickly it had gone. I thought about how I didn't get to spend enough time with Abby. Then, there was also my brother, who was only there for a short time, and now I would't see him for many years to come.
I knew that I'd have to spend more time with everyone the next day, because the day after, we would all be leaving.
For some reason, the lyrics to this song talk to me:
hold on, because we are going too fast tonight and
hold on, because we cant stop this wave that's crashing down
because we're trying too hard, it's tearing us apart
maybe now's still not the right time
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