Live Free or Let Me Die (with my family by my side)

I hate the car ride home after a family gathering. All you hear the whole way is the echoed conversations and laughs that you shared. All you see is there faces floating around in your mind with their lit-up faces. All you feel is the absence that exists once you realize that it will be a while before you see them again, regardless of what was promised while you were there. ....
This family meeting had an eerier feeling to it though. It was the last time I’ll see my favorite uncle until May when he returns from the war in Afghanistan. It comforts me to know that the last conversation we had wasn’t one of those sad goodbye conversations. It was a humorous conversation that only he, my other uncle, my two cousins, and I would share. It was, of course, about dissolvable stitches. Cousin Number One mentioned how they were made of cat tendons. Me being the only girl in the group, felt awkward when Uncle Number One mentioned that his wife, whom recently had a baby, has cat tendons along her “lower area”. The last words he spoke to me were, “Don’t worry, you’ll have them soon enough.”....


After that, I couldn’t help but laugh when I thought about what would happen if he were to be killed in Afghanistan. I couldn’t help but think that our last conversation was about cat tendons and vaginas. A thought, that if I were to share with anyone else, they would scold me and tell me how inappropriate it is to say such a thing. My grandma and parents would be particularly upset to see that I would be laughing beneath the tears at the funeral. ....


The humor the five of us share between each other surely is something special. It’s the kind of humor that anyone else would call “morbid” or “unruly”. Maybe even “horrendous” and just plain “dumb.” The humor between us is unlike the humor that I share with anyone else.....


My friends and I sometimes talk about such things, but other things I cannot mention because it will be followed by silence and maybe even someone getting up from the table. Unlike them, I can be myself around my family. I know that my family will always find a way around whatever it is and we’ll all be laughing about it within a matter of seconds of days, depending on the situation.....
I never realized any of this until now. I never realized how my family really is my best friends. I never realized how family isn’t just the people you live with. When I hear those quotes about how your family is forever. The people I live with just don’t get along very well, but the family of my step-dad is so amazing I can’t begin explaining their supreme awesomeness. All I can say is that if they were Transformers, you would so get p’wned! If they were Pokemon, you would stare in awe. If they were Ninja Turtles, The night would end in tears from laughing so hard. If they were Power Rangers, you would be running in the opposite direction.....


I also love how each and every one of us plays a role in the huge mess we call our family and there’s always room for new titles