This weekend I went to Upstate NY to visit my relatives. We went on a tour of the wineries of the Fingerlakes. I sampled some wonderful wines (and discovered that I am partial to the 2006 Dry Rieslings of the Fingerlakes region) and saw some of the most beautiful colors that I’ve seen in a very, very long time. The trees were bursting with color; the temperature was perfect–not too hot and not too cold.
I enjoyed spending time with my aunt, uncle and sister during the day. We just had fun. (My sister called our wine tour a wine hunt, which I found completely amusing.) For me, spending time with my aunt and uncle is refreshing for so many reasons. First of all, they just are. They love each other; they are enjoying their lives; they are past the era of striving–trying to determine who they are and where they are going. They have made those decisions and are working toward that goal. Being around them gives me hope that one day, I’ll have friends that are not trying to be who they want to be but rather are just who they are.
During the evening, the four of us, my Oma and my Aunt Bert went out for hibachi. Oma and Aunt Bert had never been to a hibachi place, so that made for an interesting evening. The food was good, the company was good and people attempted to eat with chopsticks, which always keeps things interesting.
All in all, I had a wonderful weekend.
I look forward to heading north once again for Thanksgiving. I want to get to know my other uncle and aunt on my terms…meaning that I want to develop a relationship with them now that I am an adult. They have three teenaged girls. One day the cousins are going to be the only remnant of this side of the family. Even though we’ve not been close all of this time, I’d like to at least try to get to know everyone. It seems that the older I get, the more my family means to me.
Deneen White 