Mom's Day

Since I don't have a mother, at least not one that is still living, I usually avoid the sentimentality surrounding this particular day. I do try to wish those who have created a child the very best on "their" day, but I'm not one for buying cards and all that jazz. I did buy some flowers for my sister in law and my stepfather's wife, but I left out Grandmom since when I do anything remotely son like in nature towards her, she gets all emotional about me not having a Mom and starts crying. Some things are best avoided. Like spending a day like this thinking about your deceased Mom.

Instead, my siblings and I try our best to not fight as much as we would on other days. And in the case of this year, we sort of gravitate towards menial tasks like working on Brother Mike's money pit house or eating. I began the day on a quest to see the family since my time here is now in short supply. The trusty Nikon D70 clutched at my side, I had high hopes of grabbing some shots of the nephews, cousins, sisters, et. al. for prosperity purposes. Upon arrival at the homestead, I came upon some guys building a railing inside the house for the stairs leading up to the 3rd floor. Now that my baby "sister" is three the time has come to make sure her safety is a priority, I assume in case my stepfather doses off while she is in his care. I always find it odd to see people doing regular things on Mother's Day. Like installing railings. Don't they have Mothers? Shouldn't they be waiting hand and foot for their wives and mother of their children? In any case, the lone family member actually at the homestead was my sister Malia. At her instance we made our way to Brother Mike's house where he and his wife, brother Dan and the in laws were feverishly working on "stuff" that is integral I suppose to getting this house liveable. Having not seen the house since I was over to help with demolition a few weeks back, I was quite shocked to see the house exisiting as nothing more than a frame. No walls, no doors, no tub, no toilets....just studs and wires. I did what I could to lend a hand, but in reality physical labor is just not my forte. Eventually the family gravitated over to Granny's for a BBQ and it was there that the reality of me moving to Georgia was discussed.

To my surprise, no one really objected outright. There were inferences to how different the people will be, but otherwise it went over pretty smoothly. This lack of fuss could signal a number of things. No one gives a shit and will be happy to see me gone? Probably not likely. Maybe they all just know that no matter what they say, I'm going. More likely the situation. It was good to just exist in a family setting...I allowed myself to soak it all in while I snapped candids of everyone. No one fought which is a real accomplishment for my family. As with most holidays things eventually evolved into the whole going to the movies thing. We settled on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy early on, but as the night progressed the number of those going to see the movie dwindled down to just Brother Mike, Brother Mike's wife Deb and Brother Dan. The movie was exactly what I expected, a thinking man's sci-fi epic. I'm sure a lot of middle America just won't get it, but I liked the people in the cast and the concept of the story enough to say it was pretty good. A decent way to end Mom's day.