The party rolls on

As I write this, we have moved from the busy and crowded area that my uncle lives in (Alto de Guadalupe), to the much less developed area of my cousin. I'd tell you the exact location, but I have no clue.

So, let's recap:

* Saturday was a day of rest after a full day of parties Friday.

To be honest, I kind of freaked out a little bit. My grandma's house was crowded and insane. And after a while, Lucky got tired and cranky, so we left early, over the objections of the rest of the family (who didn't fly the whole day before).

But we went and ran some errands in town with my uncle. We went to the bank and exchanged money (roughly 745 colones per dollar), then went to the store. There we bought diapers, milk, juice, sodas, razors and shaving cream for 15,020 colones ($25.84). We estimate that back home, the diapers alone would have been about $13. So, as you can tell, the dollar is still pretty mighty here.

* Sunday was a busy day, with many events planned. I just want to make a note here to say what an amazing host my uncle has been.

Not only did he have our family as guests (screeching 2-year-old included), but he had his brother (my dad) who is limited in movement with his cane and his "sponge" girlfriend in the house while being one the lead organizers for the weekend's events. He was gracious host, up every morning setting the table and putting out breakfast, and acting as taxi for his guests, making two trips per event in his small car.

Friday was big, Sunday was huge.

We started, of course, with a mass at a small little chapel within walking distance of my grandmother's house, where 98 percent of the people in attendance were family.

Then, we moved to a banquet hall on the grounds of the college of engineering nearby. The place was decked out, the band was booked and food and drink flowed aplenty.

Things started slow. My uncle gave a speech, and the band played while people got their food.

But when the food was done, the slideshow put together by my cousin Alfonso, brought everyone to tears.

And then we danced and danced. That was one hell of a party.

This was likely one of the most joyous family parties I've ever been to. And I've been to some whoppers. All of the cousins were just so happy to be together.


Life hasn't always been easy for us cousins, there have been moments of resentment, things we regret. It was all forgotten and I just wanted to hold all of them. I was just so happy to be there and so happy to share this with my son and my husband. It was just the best. I haven't felt that type of joy in a very long time.


After the party wrapped up, some of us went to my cousin Marcel's house (which had been my family's house when we had lived here). He has completely renovated the place and it looks incredible. We hung out for a little bit, until it was time to head back and get Lucky to sleep.

* And Monday, we rested. Though, we shopped, Bill made salsa. Yes, you read right, Bill made salsa for the Costa Rican family. And we had a small gathering and barbecue at my uncle's house. It was nice ... until it ended on weird note with everyone (aka my aunt) having had a bit too much to drink and either taking naps or going to bed early.

So, that's the summary for now. As more comes into my head, I'll vomit it onto this blog (how's that for a visual?).

You are entering another dimension...

So here’s the itinerary, folks.
Dateline, Cartago, Costa Rica: Mass at 11 a.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Which means I have less than a month to make it up to God and apologize for all the times I made the comment Jesus Saves, but Gretzky scores on the rebound.
Noon: Lunch in a restaurant to be taken over by the clan. This includes at least three educated, and well dressed, fully functioning alcoholics. One of which has absolutely no filter (who spent the first meal with her recently widowed brother, asking me when I was going to start popping out the “bebies.”) So, please, remain seated and keep your hands and arms inside the ride at all times.
That’s Friday. Saturday is a baby shower. A day of normalcy (unless they look at Bill and Lucky and ask “Who brought the testosterone?”)
Sunday, we get to go to Mass … again. Which means I’ll have one day to grovel for forgiveness for all the horse manure I’m going to pull the day before. Oh, it will happen.
Then off to the hall they have rented at the College of Engineering for a grand party with food, drink, cake, drink, dancing, more drink, videos, drinking, pictures, drinking while watching videos and looking at photos and even more drinking. And then we’ll drink some more. And then we stagger home around 7:30 p.m., where we’re probably continue drinking (hey, Grandma’s turning 100. We’re going to drink until she looks 40.)
Actually, if we all drank and got shitfaced, my Aunt “Whitey” would be so underwhelmed. The woman has a bottle of Jack for breakfast. Aren’t the rest of us wusses.
Fortunately, I’ll have the rest of the week to sleep it off before the Desert Sun sees me again.
This whole celebration is just building into this huge event. I know it’s a big deal (it got our asses down there). But it is a bit intimidating seeing everything mapped out in an itinerary by my uncle. I feel like I should walk in with my notebook and a press pass. I don’t usually attend these events unless I’m writing about them for the paper.
I’m sure I’ll have fun. I’m just a cynic. There’s so much room for me to be sarcastic. For me to dig my claws in and go for a laugh. I’ve never taken my family seriously. In fact, I plan on following some of them around with a video camera, hoping to turn the highlights into money on “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”
Stay tuned, team coverage.