One of Jose’s cousins and his family recently moved to Houston and even though they’re on the opposite side of the city, it’s still closer than 4 hours away in Corpus — so yesterday they came over for some BBQ and football! Jose’s mom is also in town this week for a visit, so it was just like a miniature version of the family picnics that happen so often in Corpus. The weather outside was “cool” for the first time in months thanks to all the rain that went through on Friday and Saturday, so we could sit out on the back patio without sweating to death, and even though the Texans ended up losing badly, all in all it was a lovely day.
Two other thoughts:
1. His cousin has a son who turns 4 in a few weeks. He did an amazingly good job of entertaining himself with Emma’s toys (plus a few of his own) at times, and was really fun to interact with at other times. In the past, we’ve only seen him at large family gatherings, and he’s a pretty shy kid who was also a late talker. But yesterday I had a great time talking to him about his dinosaurs, and about trains, and playing ball, and juggling. And I kept thinking about how awesome it will be when Emma can talk to me and we can make up dinosaur names together and she can ask questions and I can teach her things. I know, I know — everyone says not to wish her baby- and toddler-hood away — but geez, it will be so cool to be able to talk to her.
2. It is awesome to be able to have family come over for a no-big-deal BBQ. We ate and talked and watched football and played and ate some more, and it was so relaxing to just hang out. I wish we had more family that lived within an hour’s drive. I wish we could have family dinner nights. I wish Emma could see her cousins more often. None of this is going to happen unless we leave Houston and that’s not in the cards at the moment, but gosh. It would be nice.
