Last Friday, my brother picked me up at the airport and my Grandmother surprised me and was in the truck! I was so excited. And… it just kept coming. We drove by mom’s school…

Mom is one tough lady – 7th grade English in Houston… I don’t know how she does it. She got in the car and announced… ‘They got him. They got the dealer.’  How do you even live in that world?

So, they drove me to Chuy’s ~ Tex Mex ~ Hooray! My Uncle M, Aunt M, Cousin C and her husband surprised me and joined us!

Cousin C was my only girl cousin on mom’s side. We were forced to bond against my brother and two other boy cousins. She was just a little younger, way cooler than I was, but it worked. We both liked to swim and eat.

Now, she and I bond over photography and art. She is an amazing photo journalist who is very generous with her photo tips, instant friends.

I love this stage in my life, where suddenly mom Grandmother becomes my hero, my mother becomes my confidante and my cousin and I have more in common than Aunt S’s mac and cheese and chicken nuggets (they rocked, don’t get me wrong!)

We talk about first houses and holidays and my kids.

We talk about grieving and moving forward and regressing.

We talk about never getting a dog and then we laugh about how that will probably change within a year.

We traveled across town to hear our dear friend, Johann, play at Casa Rico’s in The Woodlands. Seriously. Amazing. Musician. If you ever need some Tex Mex with some awesome live cover, you have to go visit.

My bro sang Simon and Garfunkel with him and seriously (I already said that didn’t I?). Amazing.

More fun childhood memories and stories to come…