My mom's and my dad's families, that is. My dad's family mostly lives in Oregon, so I see them on a fairly regular basis and keep in pretty good contact with them. My mom's family is from Florida, so I see them somewhat less frequently -- in fact, many of them I hadn't seen in a good decade ago until last weekend.Last weekend, of course, being my cousin's wedding, I had ample time to do the traditional matrimonial catching up thing. My cousin is pretty cool, so it was a bit of an oddball wedding. Nothing too dramatic -- the groom and the groomsmen all wore Converse shoes, for example, and the wedding cake was adorned by the fellows on the right, there. Also, the reception tables were laden with cards entreating us to give them marriage advice, fill out madlibs, and draw them pictures. I drew a picture of a cowboy riding a dinosaur.
The weirdest thing for me, though, was getting a comparison of the Kelly (mom) vs the Barker (dad) side of my lineage. My dad's family are very reserved, quiet types. Our family reunions tend to be sit around the dinner table kinds -- we sing Jubilate Deo before meals, followed by nature walks and family performances (generally piano recitals). Alcohol is never present. My relatives are doctors and middle-school music teachers and renaissance studies students -- we go out to plays and classical concerts for recreation and spend time fretting about politics and social issues. My paternal cousin's wedding was a much more traditional affair, in a church with a much more conventional reception (no sparklers!).
I didn't realize 'till last weekend that my mom's family is somewhat different. This was perhaps most dramatically driven home during the reception, during which my 67-year-old uncle could be seen on the dance floor, enthusiastically dancing away to "Hey Ya!", by OutKast. I also chanced to learn that my aunt is planning on attending a Nascar race for her upcoming birthday and recently attended a Larry the Cable Guy show. And apparently my great aunt worked as a Target greeter right before she retired.
I don't know that there's anything really significant to read into that. I just thought it was funny that I was completely oblivious to it until just last week. And that's all I have to say. I probably have other interesting anecdotes from the wedding that I am not currently remembering, but you'll just have to imagine them for yourself.
