Friday, December 25, 2009

The Sunday after Thanksgiving Brunch

Hands down one of the fondest and oldest memories I have of Dad (father in-law) is Sunday's Jesus and waffles (named this way by my husband and his friends). When I started dating Chip, one of the things that impressed me was that he would every Sunday have brunch at his parents home. They would have service and then brunch. I was invited on a few occasions. What I loved about these Sunday's were that The Loving's seemed to be what I always thought a traditional American family should be. I know, I know many will say that the beauty of the US is that there are no model families, that we have so many different cultures, heritages, lifestyles, etc. But the image we as a nation send out is very comparable to 1950s conception of family. I grew up watching syndicated programs like "Leave it to Beaver", I love Lucy, the dick Van Dyke show, and the Andy Griffith show just to name a few. Yes, I was a 70s child but the TV controller was my grandma, hence black and white programs.

All in all, this was my idea of a wholesome family image and my family was anything but that, they were Hispanic and worked all the time. They didn't drink milk with their meals, nor did they wear dresses and suits. They were your average lower middle class family in New York not middle America. Now I look back and see that my life was normal for the decade I was born in, the city I lived in and the parents I had. But while growing up, I wanted to live and dress like what I saw on TV.

After many many years, once I came back to the US and stumbled into my loving husband and his family, they were at first glance that 1950s family. I fell in love with the idea, and that yes they do exist! The things I love about my family in-law is that they have those things and they have the modern things as well. They are like many families in the US, yours, mine and ours, kind of family. My father in-law is a techy, the younger generations have followed suit.

This whole story began because I wanted to stress how I love brunch at my in-laws. There is something about brunch at their house that makes me feel good. This particular brunch was no exception, great food, great company...good times.

These are just but a few of the tons of photos my niece took that day.