Thanksgiving

Master took us to his family's for Thanksgiving.

With the exception of one or two, shayla's never met His family. Which, by her standards, is huge. Though predictably large, given that he's Irish. So it was 3 brothers, 2 sisters, a few family friends, his mother, and numerous nieces & nephews. Somewhere in the range of about 20 - 25 people. Wow. His family is much like him. Easy-going, open, friendly, very likeable. There was enough food for at least three times the amount of people that were there.

What was astounding for shayla was the relaxed, easy atmosphere of the whole gathering. Most family gatherings are peppered to some degree with disagreements, ill words, stress, tension, something. Not Master's family. Not a strain, not a sharp word or comment, nothing. Just everyone relaxed, enjoying each other's company. Dominoes being played in the garage, horseshoes in the yard. The majority of the women in the kitchen talking & assisting with getting all that food ready. A football game on the garge TV.

And somehow this generous group of people simply absorbed miranda & shayla into the mixture of it all. We both migrated from the kitchen to the garage, talking, offering a hand with things (though more often than not it was refused. There were plenty of cooks in the kitchen already), watching/contributing to the domino game. Miranda had a little target practice with one of Master's nephews, a BB gun, & an innocent Coke can in the driveway.

It was over way too soon. Master had to go to work that evening, so we left earlier than most of the family did. Master's older brother told both miranda & shayla that we were welcome back anytime, and could come without Master if we liked. Shayla was told to 'take care of Marcus' by another brother. It's left a tremendous impression on shayla. She'd known that such families were possible, but had never seen anything like she did that day.

And he's taken us, miranda & shayla both, into his home as his treasured kajirae. Instructing us, guiding us in being better for him. When shayla looks at the great contrast between his upbringing & the upbringing of his kajirae, it staggers her to some degree. That he would look past us, and what our history has made of us, seeing instead what we can become under his hand. What it makes shayla feel is beyond her ability to express.

shayla