The Nicest Thing Anyone's Ever Done for Me

My mom, dad and Shan came to visit me the day after Christmas. Let me just say, though, that the holidays didn't feel anything like the holidays this year. I worked on all of them, it was sunny and warm all season, and we didn't go to a single party. But when my flesh packages arrived, it was all merriment.

We saw seals in La Jolla, hunted for gas lamps in San Diego, whale watched at Point Vicente, climbed rocks at Joshua Tree, jammed to music in Pioneertown, and ate more good food than I do even when it feels holidayish. But one of the memories I will forever cherish about their visit came on New Year's Eve.

I was coming off my second 12-hour-shift and was about to die of tired when I opened the door to my apartment. My house was gleaming it was so clean. Every speck of laundry was done AND put away. The light in the refrigerator was working again. They had stocked us with actual Kleenexes, name brand laundry detergent, and a smell-good spray for the bathroom.

On every flat surface there were plates and bowls filled with my favorite things. In the kitchen, Shannon was mixing up some appley whiskey champagney cocktail – because I love apples, whiskey, and champagne.

 

My lovies had been working all day to build this NYE / anniversary celebration for me and Mack. We usually acknowledge our anniversary around Thanksgiving, but for my family, our wedding was on NYE in Jamaica. And the celebration that they put together was even better than the wedding that prompted it.

The spread consisted of orange walnut butter, pomegranate salsa, stuffed artichokes, toasted margherita bread with fancy olive oil and vinegar, chunky guacamole, smoked salmon with spicy horseradish mustard, multiple cheese plates (including one with red pepper jelly and brie and one with Stilton blue cheese), and a blueberry pie. They even put out some Taco Doritos, which might be the reason I get the 'Betes someday.

My favorite way to eat is bite sized. I love to put things together in different combinations and proportions to come up with "the perfect bite." I'd pick noshing on little bits of lots of different things over heaping helpings of a few any day. And if I can eat those bites on a carbohydrate-based edible utensil, even better.

This surprise celebration was so thoughtful and such a testament to how well my family knows, understands, and supports who I am and what I love that it didn't even matter that Mack wasn't there to be a part of it. They are the people who implant happiness inside of me and who can turn an ordinary evening into a lasting memory. They are the best presents I've ever been given, and if things don't work out with Mack and me, I'm marrying one of them.