ain't nothin' like family

I just had some serious deja vu. Or maybe I'm catching this stand-up comedian on BET as a re-run. Eh, who knows.

So I've been spending the time with the family. Today, Mom was off work because we were originally scheduled to do a little family weekend vacation to who-knows-where. Somehow that fell through, so it ended up just being a day of chillin' at home with the Creole. We were going to go see Mean Girls (I know--I shouldn't admit to that), but we were too lazy. We stayed here. I did watch Flowers in the Attic on Starz. It basically sucked. But what can you expect from 1987, you know?

Tonight, we went to Clay with Wade and Day. Before we got out of Jeri's, I thought I was going to puke. I don't know if it was the fish I ate or the three gallons of sweet tea I drank or the six million people conversing at the top of their lungs, but I quite literally got sick. So we high-tailed it out of there, and at Wade and Day's, we watched (and taped) CMT's Crossroads with Brad Paisley and John Mayer. That is a pretty good show. If you get a chance, watch it. It was neat hearing them sing each other's songs. Right before John sang Brad's "Little Moments," they were talking about how John singing it sounds completely different than Brad's version, but it doesn't matter. John said something about a song itself just being the framework for the expression of the performer. Something like that. I thought that was interesting.

Tomorrow night, I think Mom, Dad, and I are going to Goldie's. That's about as familified (ooh, I made that up, and I like it...) as it gets, ladies and gentlemen. Goldie's Best Little Opryhouse in Kentucky. You know what. Don't click on that link. It's embarrassing and depressing. Okay, so the show's not that bad, and they have good popcorn.

Well, I'm pretty tired, and Mom was talking like we might actually get up and do something in the morning. Like do breakfast with the family. That would include aunts and uncles and stuff. I honestly don't remember the last time I've been around for one of those Saturday morning breakfasts. Mmkay, maybe I do, but it sure wasn't the same. Apparently, you go off to college, and when you come home, it's not how you left it. It might seem the same at first, but it's not. See, when you're admist all the change, it doesn't seem drastic, but when you're not around for it, it shows. See, it seemed like my parents aged a lot the first year I was in school. I wondered if my absence was that stressful on them, but then I realized, though I'm sure it had some impact, they were aging just as they had before. I just wasn't around to see it happen as I was in the past. But honestly, after you leave home for the first time, even if you think you're not leaving for good, it's never quite the same. And I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet.