saturday night fever

I was standing in my kitchen, eating a pizza pocket and listening to radiohead. I had just finished cleaning out my fridge- not scrubbing it, just throwing away all the jars and bottles of jam, ketchup, salad dressings, and the like that expired in 2008. Yes, 2008.

As I stare at the lumpy garbage bag FULL of condiments, and have pepperoni spilling onto my hand from the pizza pocket, I think, "why oh why do we NOT go through all that stuff?" We always went through that kind of stuff when I was growing up, and when I lived with my parents after rehab.

Danny doesn't really like salad, so I don't buy it very often. We hardly ever eat bread, it gets moldy before we can even get halfway through it. So, sometimes when I go to my parents house, I want a PB&J, or just toast with homemade jam, or a small salad. My mom ALWAYS has salad fixing's, fresh bread, and homemade jam. (usually made by her) It's funny how I never even think of eating those things at my house, even when I have the ingredients. But when I sit in that kitchen with my family on days or evenings that I visit them and everyone is just milling about, doing whatever, I want snacks. So I will get up, and make myself something. On a few occasions, Danny has been there to witness my snackiness, and he just looks at me like "why are you eating that and why don't I get one too?" So I usually make him something too.

(now onto pizza pocket #2)

My mom is an awesome cook, baker and everything else. I am so grateful that I grew up in a house with family dinner every night. Homework before dinner, helping mom prepare dinner, all of us eating around her vintage table, and then dishes. Then came friends. On the rare occasion that we did not have homework, we could play before dinner. And Sundays were mostly reserved for family time. Church, then the big Sunday dinner. We would sometimes have our cousins over, or we would travel to their house. I look back on it now, and I really appreciate the consistency of my parents rules. We were a family, did activities and trips and dinner as a family. And we still do.

I didn't really like Sundays growing up, the house was so quiet, and I was always so bored. I thought the the quietness made them boring. Sundays are quiet, not boring.

Now on Sundays, I clean and do laundry and generally just laze about with Danny. I love that total relaxed quality time that I get to have with him. He is my new family. We have our own memories, traditions, and habits to create. It's very exciting to think about- what will our future grown up children want to snack on when they come to visit us? (probably cake and cupcakes)

Danny has definitely gotten engulfed in my family's traditions, and quirks. We blab, on and on, whenever we go to visit them. I love it. Danny, not so much. He does not like not being able to be in the conversation. But my dad loves Danny, so he is really good to include him, but mostly he just talks to Danny. About computers, politics, and other weird random stuff.

The only traditions and quirks that I have been exposed to in Danny's family are the traditions that his grandma keeps, and the quirks are that when we visit his family, nobody talks. And if they do, it's short questions followed by 1 or 2 word answers. Lots of silences, followed by longer ones. It makes me nervous. But I think that once we have a kid or 2, they will be filling those silences very nicely. Or just loudly, which is fine by me.

So now I am finished eating, and going completely off topic. Where was I? Oh yeah, cleaning. I am gonna go and start on the bathroom now.