A Warm Place

Isn't "the bosom of my family" an odd sort of phrase? I am not certain where I heard this phrase, but I kind of think it's scriptural or something. As odd as it is, "bosom" is supposed to be a place of warmth and comfort, figuratively and literally speaking. I had a friend at BYU (you know who you are) that would jokingly bring our heads to his chest while inviting us to "come to his bosom" if we had some sort of grievance. We would push him away in mock horror, but it was kind of nice. Long story short, I spent my vacation in the bosom of my family, but the first Saturday of my month of heaven was spent in the bosom of a huge portion of all my family, figuratively speaking of course.

My older sister had this idea to turn my trip home into a sort of family reunion. She always wants to plan those sorts of functions. If there is anything that belongs on my sister's headstone when she dies it should read "Here lies Amy Briscoe. All she ever wanted was a real Family Reunion." Or something to that effect. So she emailed everyone via Facebook and rallied the troops to get together in Seattle for something big and fun. Then she and her family decided that they couldn't make the trip. Then my brother dropped out. And a few others couldn't visit as well. So instead of a huge reunion-type thing with tugs-of-war and arts&crafts, we had a delicious meal and good company consisting of 1 grandma, 1 uncle, two aunts, 5 cousins, three cousin's spouses, 4 next-generation cousins, 1 dad, 1 mom, 1 sister and me.

It was an entirely lovely day.

My mom, the woman who gave me my skills in the kitchen, as well as a knack for worrying about what to make for dinner, went all out for the meal. She made the following: pork roast (which is naturally the first thing you eat when exiting an Arab country), mashed potatoes, rolls (bread is her specialty), pumpkin pie, and an cast-iron-skillet apple cake. My Uncle Bruce cooked green beans (from the garden) with bacon, and my Aunt Debi brought a salad with tasty citrus dressing (recipe please!). We like to eat in this family, and I must say that this hobby has been enhanced by some talented cooks and creative palates. Everything was so good as it always is.

Growing up, we had a lot of fabulous family meals around the holidays and such. When my immediate family moved away, one of the things I missed the most was being with all the aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. I truly looked forward to Saturday's dinner, and being able to catch up with everyone.

I had the most fun catching up with my cousin's 3-year-old daughter, Leah, who was born shortly after I left for New York. That girl has a lot of energy. Early in the afternoon, she entertained us by singing "If by chance you meet a frown" while marching in a circle. Soon the song got a little bit louder, and we noticed that she was actually singing:
If by chance you meet a smile
do not let it stay
quickly turn it upside-down
and frown that smile away.

All while marching in a circle.

Later, we played an "over and under" game. While sitting with my feet propped up on a chair, I encouraged Leah to crawl under my legs. Then she decided it would be fun to climb over my legs. She's three, but she's not little, and it really hurt when she dug her elbow into my thighs. At some point we were playing a fun game where she would pop up through my legs and hang for a bit. I would also swing her in that position. We totally bonded. Later, when I was having a bit of a nap on the floor, she told her step-cousins not to step on me because I was her cousin. I felt that I had succeeded in becoming a true part of her family, and not just that distant, wandering person whom she may know from pictures or stories.

While everyone shared their time and concern for me, I shared some fun Arabic stuff I brought for the family to try. I bought a whole bunch of roasted nuts, dates, cardamom gum and camel-milk chocolate. The chocolate had a slightly sour aftertaste, but it was actually pretty good. I also brought little bags of zaatar, a traditional herb mix, for everyone to try at home. Zaatar is a combo of thyme, marjoram, sumac, and sesame seeds. I've eaten it mostly on breads in Lebanon. My favorite is a manakish: flat bread sprinkled with halloumi cheese, cooked in a brick oven, and then a thin layer of zaatar mixed with a bit of olive oil. So good. Everyone needs to let me know the results of their zaatar-experiments. (P.S. dear readers, you can buy this stuff at specialty spice stores and at middle-eastern grocery stores.)

It was hard to say good-bye to everyone again at the end of the evening. But it is nice to make plans to come back.