Reunion

This evening i met up with my bro W @ SFO, 30 miles away from my domicile, to fetch the 'rents flying in from Asia.

I expected the kidz to be there. But, no, it was just my bro.

At first i was disappointed. I wanted to see their reaction to my parents' arrival.

But then he and i got to talkin', and laughin' our asses off, just like old times, when it was just me and him up at Chico State.

Lord knows it's been ages since it's just me and him.

My bro and i may not agree on a lot of things, but we sure get along... and connect. I don't know how that is, but i sure wish it was this (relatively) easy with others.

Thanks to modern stalker technology, you get to see who's gonna exit the terminal 30 seconds before they push their carts through.

I'll admit i had some major anxiety building up to this moment and beyond... I've been ravenous... And this evening i had heartburn and an upset stomach. Just incredible. I keep seeing older peeps with a lot of grey and thinking, "What if that's them? What if they look so much older i don't even recognize them?"

And wondered how i'd look to them...

It was surreal to see my folks on American airport cam.

My Mom was outtie first. We both waved. I literally grinned from ear to ear.

I don't think about my parents often. I think i shove them out of my head so i won't miss 'em so i won't be miserable. (I'm sure i have blogged about this before.)

Naturally and habitually, my Mom and my bro paired up, as did my Dad and i.

The cosmos are fair... somewhat.

It was good to see them. And, no, they weren't old and grey as i'd feared. They looked good to me.

10 minutes after my Mom lamented about the very difficult officer she'd encountered, we were now at the elevator, waiting.

She turned to me and said, "You look good. You have color in your cheeks!"

"I eat healthy now," i replied, feeling self-conscious.

Of all my recent dishes, for some reason the geoduck clams really got stuck in their heads...

"Did you share?" My Mom asked. OMG...

Self-conscious: the same feeling as she commented earlier, "I thought you were too busy to show!"

Well, my knee-jerk reaction was not to show. I get up at six in the morning! But then i started to think... How many times have i picked them up at an airport? And how many more times, if any, will i get to do this? For two people who gave me life?

Now, most religions, i realize, will argue mere mortals cannot bestow life. We're just vehicles... instruments...

But, had these two not fucked (ahem, pardon me, made love), i wouldn't be here! Even though i know my joie de vivre has been consistently on the decline... the gratitude is there, latent.

It is surreal they are now in town, only 16.27 miles away! Tonight i found myself thinking: i wish they were around all the time!

Dexter was right about me having left the nest too young. I would've never considered that notion. I was 16. I wanted out.

You can't escape from loving your parents. You can't escape from love. Period.