Happy Endings

Those of you who know me even a little bit already know that I am not much of a television watcher, but I do like good movies (I also have a few guilty pleasures of shows that I record and watch the whole season of in a short amount of time, which is kind of like a few movies) and one movie which I thought was great … “The Notebook”… yes, I can hear all my buddies who know I watch blood and guts movies laugh at me now! Obviously I am secure in my sexuality to be watching a “chick flick” and telling everyone it is a good movie, plus I guess I am a sensitive guy…

I was at my cousin Jillian’s wedding this past weekend, and though I am a bit jaded when it comes to long-term relationships… particularly those which are legally binding… I always like to see people find what they are looking for in life, and Jillian and Kirk seem to have started down the road of a happy ending… not to be confused with the type of happy ending that comes with an Asian Massage!

It was my first big family gathering that I knowingly brought Achmed along to, and although I have seen most of the people I saw Saturday night prior to the big reunion, it was the first time I had seen a big load of them all at once. You know how people say that the only time they get together is for Weddings and Funerals… why is that? Obviously geography is one reason that can’t easily be overcome, but most of the relatives who made it are already living here, so why does it take an event to get together?

Lately I have been making conscious decisions to become more present in the lives of people in my life and I have tried to stop taking everything for granted and that has included not waiting for someone to die or get hitched to see them. I don’t know how I am actually going to accomplish this. Between my Mother’s family and my Father’s I have almost 100 first cousins, not including spouses!!! I can legitimately say that I don’t even know them all… which is terrible… but a fact. Of course, with a family that big there is always someone either getting married or dying, so once you throw in a few Christmas parties, maybe that is enough to see everyone.

Anyway, the other night is was nice to hang out and chat with people about stuff and not about brain tumours. It can get a little tiring and I would like to think I have a lot more to offer a conversation than technical aspects of something that most people don’t know about, and really probably don’t want to know about. Last week was a pretty headachy week for me and that ultimately takes a lot of wind out of my sails. A constant throbbing in your jaw and head can get a bit tiring, so hanging out and forgetting about it for a night was nice.

As for the wedding, Jillian and Kirk seem to have found what they are looking for in life to move towards their happy ending, probably it will be something like the dude from the Rockford Files and the lady that played his wife in “The Notebook” found.

As for me, I have started to treat each day as a new opportunity to have a new happy ending… life is too short to go to bed in a bad mood.

From Achmed and Me… Live Life!