The Only Really Important Thing

My family is crazy. They really are. Our conversations are full of movie quotes and references. We say “yahtzee” and “idjit.” We talk about Stargates and named our car The Puddle Jumper. We feel a sudden cold breeze and say “I think I felt a chill!” to which someone will respond “That’s coz it’s cold.” When we’re about to hit the road, we say we’re just going “somewhere else,” or “somewhere that’s not here.” We joke that the talcum powder scattered around to keep the ants out are like salt lines.

 

Even more confusing to outsiders would be the quotes that got misheard. “Are you humming Metallica?” was heard by Jireh as “Are you hungry for talcum powder?” and his version gets quoted as often as the original. We laughed so hard the day he shouted that out, swinging in the ropes at a playground.

 

Going through a tragedy brought us closer, because at the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other. Time and time again I’m reminded of that. My family is all I have, all I can count on. Of course we fight and argue, because some days the bus just seems too small, especially this time of year. But the fights never last very long, and for me, at least, grudges fall by the wayside because it doesn’t really matter that Tess ate all the lollies (including three lollipops) off my bed, or that somebody cut the legs off my best pair of jeans, thinking it was hers. After going through March 2011, none of that seems like a big deal anymore. The only really important thing is that we’re together.