My cousin turned 33 on Saturday. Woohoo! I was invited to his birthday lunch at Fogo de Chão but I didn´t want to go. I was tired from my morning of ´brinca na rua´ and Fogo de Chão is basically a meat buffet. My pops loves the place so I´ve been there often. (I have two dads - so for clarification I call one pops and one dad) But refusing family invites, especially for special events, isn´t an option. So I went, and I am so glad I did. It gave me a chance to appreciate life with extended family.
Tia Sônia, my grandmother, and I walked in just after 2pm and it was Lou (the birthday boy), Lou´s girlfriend, Camilia (Lou´s sister), Tia Lecy (Lou´s mom), and Ze (Lou´s brother-in-law). All family. Except for one of Lou´s friends. Just one. Hmmm...I thought to myself, that is odd. We all sat down at the bar and chatted for a bit, waiting for my uncle. **Sidenote: thank goodness I ate a little before I went because we didn´t sit down in the restaurant until after 3pm - I would´ve been so moody and hungry. I´m still getting used to the "timing of eating", which is what I blame on why I eat a lot at 6pm (snack) and then again at 8:30pm (dinner)**. At the table Lou made sure to sit his friend across the table from me.
I didn´t say much to the friend because he doesn´t speak English and I speak a disgusting Portuguese (I say things like "she come to birthday" instead of "he came to the party"). I did get to talk to Ze (who is married to Ale - the sister that wasn´t there) and Camilia. That is one of the best things about being in Brasil - spending time with family. The two of them are so funny. Laughing and getting to know my cousins didn´t give me time to think about why Lou made an exception and invited his friend - apparently they both spend a lot of time together studying to take an exam to become a judge. After lunch we went back to Lou´s house, cut some cake, and then my aunt and I had to leave to go get a pedicure. As I got in the car and my tia Lecy asked the aunt I´m living with (tia Sônia) if I liked the friend. Ah hah - my suspicion was confirmed! She then went on to tell me all the reasons I should like him - he is calm, organized, and the clincher - Catholic. She wrapped up by labeling him the kind of man one should marry. I laughed so hard. She convinced me I should be interested as I was driving away. Alas, I missed out on connecting with the kind of man I should marry. Tia Sônia thinks it is because I am too timid. Maybe, maybe. (my friends will laugh at that and I think it only applies to men). I find it very easy to flirt with guys I´m not interested in AND I´ve spent most of the past 7 years thinking I knew who I was going to spend my life with. I´m accepting that the man I thought I was going to marry, my first love, won´t ever show love the way I want so I need to move on - and flirt with the ones I actually like....but he will probably have to speak English for me to have any success. Lets see if I get any other opportunities......The family´s attempted hookup, rather then annoying me, made me feel so loved. The fun part is I didn´t grow up with lots of family around "looking out for my best interests" - so I´m still getting into the rhythm of getting clothes they think will look good on me, being advised on haircuts, and having my weight noted each time I see someone. Along with my best interests is finding a husband. Anyway...the point being that I´m so glad I am here to have my family meddle in my life. It feels good to be called (sometimes 6 times a day), questioned, poked, prodded, encouraged, and most of all loved. Family is great!
<
No comments:
Post a Comment