Describing a cantaloupe and saving the day.

I haven’t mentioned him very much yet, but I have a “little” brother named Joey.  He’s really only little in the younger sense, but not in the smaller sense.  I almost don’t want to write about Joey at all because if I try, I’ll end up minimizing his big heart, his incredible maturity, his abundance of joy and his hysterical nature.  How would you feel if you were blind and I insisted that you know what cantaloupe tastes like by feeling the texture instead of enjoying the fruit?  Consider my few words to be the texture; but trust me that he’s dripping with flavor.

Joey is engaged to be married in less than two months.  Caitlin, his fiancée, was having her bridal shower today.  And Momma – God love her – had underestimated the drive.  Realizing that the party was farther away than anticipated, yesterday Momma changed her RSVP from “yes” to “no”, thinking that she’d be able to make it up to Caitlin later.

Okay.  I’ve been a hairstylist for almost eight years now.  My clients fill me in on every instance of family dysfunction, every slap in the face and every passive aggressive insult.   I could already hear how this story sounded from every possible perspective.  There was just no way that the absence of the future mother-in-law would go unnoticed.  I knew this.  Joey knew this.

And so my little brother – who never asks for anything – asked me to do something.

And when Joey calls, I come running.  I stepped into a telephone booth, twirled around and emerged with my superhero cape flapping behind me.  (Actually, I emerged in my most cheerful, summer dress.  If I was an eight year old girl, I’d spin around in a field of daisies, round and round in this dress, ever enjoying the way that the skirt lifts and twirls along with me.)

I woke my mother up at 7:00 this morning and told her to be ready for me to pick her and my little sis up.  What would have been an hour and a half round trip for me was about to turn into a day of six hours of driving.  Didn’t matter.  Joey matters.  Caitlin matters.  Momma matters.  FAMILY matters.  Period.  We do these things together and that’s that.

And so we all enjoyed celebrating the bride together.  The shower had a cooking/kitchen theme.  This morning I carefully selected several recipes to pass along that I know Joey has enjoyed over the years.  (Baked oatmeal, buffalo chicken dip, World Peace Salad… You’re welcome, Joey.)  Would you believe me if I admitted that I even put the recipe cards in plastic, recipe card protectors?  >Nerd alert.<

As it turned out, Caitlin was able to drive my mom back home.  No six hours of driving for me after all.  More like just under four.  No biggie.  Family’s worth it, right?