Family Ties

I was looking forward to this trip partly because I'd get to meet several of my "new" relatives that had not made it to our wedding--and I'd get to spend more time with those that did. As usual, the Lucios were a lively bunch and I enjoyed being a part of them.

Still, I'm a newcomer to the family, so I got to experience the wedding and the whole dynamics around it as a bit of an (objective?) outsider. We arrived just as the preparations for the rehearsal dinner at Debbie's house were winding down (which was perfect timing on our part). Debbie's house in Long Beach is a beautiful '20s building that had been renovated and expanded with a second story and that's elegantly decorate with all sorts of cool femme art. It's got a pleasant back yard that was decked out to seat some 50+ people for the dinner.

We were relaxing nicely when everyone arrived from the wedding rehearsal. The big bunch of Lucios, including the bride, Aunt Bertha were accompanied by the groom, Frank, his six children and their spouses and his 12(!) small grand children. He's from New York and so are his family and the all sound and act that way. A bit overwhelming and quite different from the laid-back Texans and Californians, but I secretly enjoyed the mingling (and clashing) of the cultures.

Weird things I noticed: Frank's grand kids apparently had never abused a piñata before. Yankees do some strange line-dance to the Cotton Eyed Joe, they seem to prefer a techno version of it, and they don't do the Bullshit! part.

The wedding on Sunday was mercifully shorter than our own. The reception was posh, with great food and a nicely sized dance floor. By the time it was all over, the families had mingled quite nicely. However, the after-parties were segregated by family and I got to participate in a new Lucio tradition known as The Hot Seat.