Family dinners always consist of a lot of talking and even more laughing.
This time around we got to meet our new cousins, M and R! My uncle and aunt, who live in Okinawa, are foster parents and they've had M and R with them for about a year now but this was the first time my family got to meet them. I'm so glad we got time to get to know each other.
At our family dinners, we are pretty old school. The women gather in the kitchen to prepare dinner together, all the while chatting away. The men sit in the living room and talk about business...or whatever men talk about.
And when there are children around, someone is elected to play with (i.e. watch over) them. Usually the children have the power to choose who they want as a playmate.
This time around, the six year old R chose me!!! :D
We played things like run-around-the-neighborhood-randomly or paper-rock-scissors-with-loose-rules (as in R always wins). It was a lot of fun, actually. We did this silly dance every time a game was over, regardless of who one!
R also took an interest to my camera, so I let her play with it. My aunt was worried but she was really careful with it. R took both of the pictures above. Isn't she talented? I think she's better than I am! When she becomes a professional photographer, I can say I let her use her first real camera! :D
We include an Okinawa favorite Umi-budo (海ぶどう) in our temaki-zushi!
My grandma, aunt M, and my mom in the kitchen.
We spent the day sharing stories and catching up with each other...and still there wasn't enough time. My uncle and aunt had a tough time dragging the girls away and we were pretty reluctant to let them all go, too. We really had a grand ole time together and I am already looking forward to our next family dinner together!
“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.”
- Richard Bach