Family Unity

Cookouts at Grandma's house are a long going tradition in the Shultz & Dana family. Only their will you hear "I Get a Kick Out of You" be followed by "The Cupid Shuffle." My family encompasses a wide range of personalities ranging from the drunk uncle who can't project his vernacular coherently to my Grandmother, queen of the house whom I adore. This forth of July started like all other gathering in the Dana family, we ate. Wings, Steak, Crab Legs, all we could eat and more. The crab legs were succulent and when dipped in butter the sweet tender meat was enjoyed over banters of political nonsense, I bite my tongue. I have found this year, that I can do a quite impressive dive which is new to me on account of my younger, two hundred and fifty pound self, could do so effortlessly. One of the things I enjoyed the most was spending time with my younger cousin Justin. Justin is ten years old, perhaps eleven, and he reminds me more of myself than ever before. He is definitely a Dana boy, dark complexion, broad shoulders, the resemblance as he gets older becomes ever more apparent. Perhaps a majority of the similarity between us is sports. Like him I played for Kempsville Middle and just the other day I noticed his school picture, one in his uniform, on my parents fridge. I had taken a picture of mine when I was his age and we had a good laugh, I told him he was a better player, one that with drive can go places and perhaps one who will play on cable television someday. We laughed, and enjoyed each others company as my father and a few others shot fireworks off in the derelict bank parking lot the next property over. Fourth of July at MiMi's house was nothing out of the ordinary I suppose, I think that is what made it so great.