The Arrival of JOM & Family

Sarah & Patty went to the market early this morning, leaving me to watch the kids. Lucky for me, the kids were tired and slept particularly late this morning, making my job even easier than expected. Only Lucas woke up a little before 10 and wow, was he grumpy. It’s tough to cheer a 4-year-old up first thing in the morning.

Every time I tried to lure him out of bed, he’d burry his face in the pillow and turn the other way. I brought Tequila over (how could anyone not smile at that beautiful fluffy white face and liquorish nose?) and he hid under the covers. I talked about “Mommy” and the goodies she’d be bringing home. But nothing. That kid was determined to stay in bed.

Then a little light bulb flashed above my head. “Guess who’s coming today, Lucas?”

He paused, his mind busy at work. It must be tough for a 4-year-old to keep all his relatives straight, forget remember who arrives when. But when his expression changed from crabby to ecstatic, I knew he’d found the answer. His little blue eyes lit up and an enormous smile crept across his tiny cheeks. “Uncle Jommy!”

Lucas has been asking for Jom (James Olivier Michel) all week. Realizing that he was on the way brought Lucas dashing out of bed and the two of us played downstairs until Sarah came back with breakfast.

Jommy and my Aunt Carol arrived around 3, absolutely exhausted from a very long red-eye trip, with my 13-year-old cousin Jesse and his friend Josh, as well as Carol’s nephew Ryan. It’s wonderful to see family. And I have such a nice family. I have never read Harry Potter and as that’s become the talk of the house, I’ve decided I should start. As my grandfather said, “It’s time you grew up and started enjoying Harry!” So I asked the Americans to bring over any copies they had but all my book-loving Aunt Carol had were signed hardcopies she – understandably – didn’t want to transport. So, being the sweet woman she is, she went out and bought me volumes 1, 2 & 3, leaving me with book 4 in the attic and darling little Lexie will leave 5 for me, and my grandfather is anxiously awaiting his vacation here so that he can read number 6. Once he’s through it’ll be my turn and I’ll be all caught up, thanks to the good graces of my family.

And, my grandmother has been kind enough to agree to take my leather jacket with her when she comes so that I will not freeze on my scooter at night, again, thanks to the good graces of family.

Regardless, we passed a lazy afternoon in the gloomy, windy weather indoors. The kids wrestled upstairs, excited to have so many playmates. Carol and Patty fought off naps from within their bedrooms, leaving Aunt Sarah, Uncle Jommy and I reading in the sunroom. I wondered, during a pause between chapters, how many times Sarah and her brother Jommy and my father sat in this very same room, possibly in these very same spots, reading this very same way. They have memories of this place as children, as I do, as the next Michel generation will. I looked at my aunt and my uncle and smiled. I could see them as little children reading picture books, riley teenagers reading school assignments, young-twenty-somethings with whatever their heart desired – readers of all ages – sitting in their shadows on the wild orange cushions. They’ve been here countless numbers of times and all of their favorite traditions live on. It’s beautiful.

And, like they have done for years, the family will gather tonight and every night to play cards around the tiny straw table in the sunroom, the same table Francis, Ludo & I gathered around for late night talks, the same table Sarah and her friends & I gathered around to play Tarot, the same table my father, brother & I gathered around for cribbage or pitch, if Becca and my mother were up for it.

Oh, traditions… family… the joys of a house like this.