Pre-emptive ibuprofen and some musings on my ohana

There's an episode of The Office that I love when the entire staff has to deal with the fall-out of one of their suppliers putting a pornographic watermark on a massive shipment of their paper...and the mockumentary team shows Angela silently taking a few aspirins; she goes, "I don't have a headache. I'm just preparing." (This is also the episode when Kelly sings a few bars of "Hollaback Girl" for the mockumentary team. Classic Kapoor.)

Katie has just informed me that "pre-emptive ibuprofen" should become a new practice of mine. This is in sight of another small victory: I completed 1.1 miles on the elliptical machine, and walked a few blocks around my parents's neighborhood. Considering the portrait of pretty I was this morning following yesterday's little workout, I am planning on heeding that advice. (Ok, so, when you sit or lie around for months at a time without really using your lungs, and then you start using them again, they do NOT know what the fuck to do with themselves. Or at least, that has been my case. And that has resulted in these really super-duper coughing fits...while this may be good and healthy for my lungs, like "Wheee!! We're waking up again!!!", it is entirely unamusing for my trapezius muscles. Yeah, the traps are not cool with the coughing fits. Not on board. The traps are like, "Yo, D, remember yesterday when you sat really still in the recliner and we watched some sweet Food Network action, and every so often you'd shrug your shoulders gently? Yeah, let's keep doing that, and not so much with the doing of really anything else, ok? And while that happens, we'll keep up our end of the bargain of HEALING FROM BEING SLICED APART. Cool?" And in my imagination, the trapezius muscles sound a little bit like Mafiosi. Like, they're not threatening anything quite yet, but they want me to know they have bargaining power in their back pockets.)

My parents and I sat down for a meal together tonight which was really pleasant...normally, meals at Casa Mofo are a bit more utilitarian, in which people eat what and when is appropriate. But, tonight, we sat down at the same time, and had a lovely meal (Doug put salmon, sweet peppers, and onions on the grill, and I made some jasmine rice, and Jan made fat-free pudding for dessert. Ohhhh, soooo good.) I am a big proponent of the "family table"...it seems to me that there are really simple avenues to curb complex family issues, and having dinner together as a family is one of them. When I was little, like maybe up through 3rd or 4th grade, we had regular dinners on the table...as I got older, it was pretty much impossible to keep that going...but I'm glad to have had that opportunity. It's just a nice concept-- everyone pitches in to prepare a wholesome meal, everyone sits together, and take a few minutes to sort of reflect on whatever the day brought. I think it's a huge disservice to kids if this concept is entirely foreign. Anyway, now as adults, it's always a nice feeling to sit with my family, and know that we can carry on a decent conversation and enjoy one another's company. It also helps that most of us love to cook (Jan doesn't think she's a good cook [totally not true] and therefore gets very little joy from the process)...and none of us have major food issues. Honestly, what a simple and wonderful pleasure...sitting at a table with people you love and enjoy, sharing good and nourishing food, making one another laugh...at this point, I feel like any of those occasions I share with my family have this added value of pride, for lack of a better word. Like, tonight, I watched my parents sort of rib each other about something, and I'm laughing, and can't help but feel grateful and proud of them and us as a family...like, despite the drama, despite the serious trials we've endured (more recent or further in the past), we've come this far, and we're still at that proverbial table. My parents will celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary this year-- they've endured 35 years together. They've raised 4 well-adjusted adults that actually LIKE one another (everyone loves their brothers and sisters...you just do...but my siblings and I are lucky in that we like each other, too...it took a little while, but we got there and I wish that kind of joy for everyone because it's unlike anything else...and I'm getting a new sister soon, too!). Maybe it was just because dinner was so good, or because I'm just happy to be home for a little while, or because I'm excited at the prospect of my friends who are starting their own marriages and families, or maybe I'm still floating on some exercise endorphins that have been foreign to me for 2 f-ing months...but I am absolutely awestruck by my parents sometimes. Imperfect as they may be, as heated as the arguments can get, they made a committment to each other and to their family, and they just make it happen. For THIRTY-FIVE YEARS. (I high-five Katie, Molly, and Thea for keeping our friendship intact for 11, 12 years...but come on. That's a cake-walk compared to 35 years of marriage, babies, in-laws, mortgages, jobs, etc. Amazing.)

Ok...I've now sat and blogged while my own sweat has created this layer of attractiveness on me...I should probably go remedy that. There's a rumor floating about the kitchen that Jan is making oatmeal cookies so if I time it right, I'll get out of the shower in a cloud of yummy soapiness coupled with a cloud of yummy oatmeal cookieness. And that's ACTUALLY what is referred to as a "perfect storm".

Ohana.