Date: July 30th, 2010
I had the distinct pleasure of being invited to visit Justin's extended family/friends in Holland, Michigan this year. It was an all around new experience for me since my family generally vacations in a single, nuclear unit. If we can't fit in one car, its probably not a DCamp vacation. While I greatly enjoy seeing the world with my parents, it is something entirely different to go to a large gathering of old friends and family and catch up. I was pretty darn flattered to be invited too.
We got on the road to Holland late in the day on Friday, once Justin had finished work and I'd cleaned my place in Ann Arbor. It was a pretty darn scenic drive. I love the drive from Ann Arbor to Lansing for my job --- going all the way to Holland was just more of the same beautiful countryside. I couldn't shake a sense of concern, as we neared the western shores of Michigan, that I wouldn't be able to get a new thing done for the day.
I'd spent the whole day cleaning and packing. Justin had worked the whole day, packed and then driven from downriver to my house. We were both exhausted as we rolled into town, but more than that... I'd only met his family a couple times before. I sure as heck wasn't going to excuse myself from something I'd been kindly invited to just so I could do something new. This project means the world to me, but gosh darnit, I was raised to be polite.
I decided, as we walked in, that I'd just give it up to God, as the expression goes. I'd sit back, socialize and hope something new just... happened. Once I made that decision, I calmed down a lot and spent some time getting to know Justin's family. They rock. They're super laid back, hilariously funny and easygoing. I felt comfortable almost immediately. I could also see how much love was there. From friendly teasing to "man I hope I smell good" closeness for group photos, they were an absolute riot.
As the evening started to wind down, someone recommended that we watch some old 8mm movies from when Justin's parents were young adults. We piled onto the couch, popped in the remastered DVD version of the old 8mm's (ain't technology grand?) and spent the better part of the next hour laughing about the wonderfully goofy antics of Justin's parents and aunts. They didn't just stand and wave at the camera - they did hilarious skits with stop motion shooting. From sitting on the ground and scooting so they looked like a car driving to pretending to have fisticuffs, the whole show was a great time.
For me, as someone who is just now meeting the people who were in those movies, I felt like I was getting to see something really special. I glanced around at people's faces and noticed a sense of joyful nostalgia. Its interesting to watch someone remember. The look on their face changes as the memory transitions through good, bad, strong and weak with the video in front of them. As for me; I spent the whole movie with a dopey grin on my face cause I thought it was neato. Seriously. There is no other proper word for 8mm home movies than neato. Look it up.
It was a great start to an even better weekend. I feel utterly blessed to have gotten to spend the time with such wonderful, lively, fun people and I hope I get the chance to do it again.
Also, there were some serious fros in those movies. It was epic.
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