family first

fourth of july fireworks felt well spent on an
impromptu 36 hr rendezvous with my family in Kennebunkport for hang time, laughter + love. I flew in to shut off. sleepless nights stack up as mental lists never end. my body  craved laughter + quiet all the same. in my own way, i went in search of celebrating the freedom to just be, me —with family who accept me + who i often feel judged by-- a demon of my own that needed dealing with. So I did just that. see, i have these visionary dreams of changing the way we see ourselves, thru self acceptance + self love -- a mission i'm unsure my family understands. but I needed to make peace with knowing that they don’t have to. only I do.

i set out to Maine + set myself up for success: no email, no expectation. just full belly laughs, farm stands + fudge. No plans, just love. Success! 36 hrs of play - no work. physical or mental. total reset. I laid my face in the sun + Filled my family with delicious. I love a big kitchen away from the busy city. to tiptoe info before the sunrise + sip coffee while everyone sleeps.
cooking brings me ease. I love making my boorish brothers breakfast to tame their bottomless appetites: Piles of pancakes topped with homemade orange blueberry jam + maple syrup, Fiery red lobsters boiled + buttered + stacks upon stacks of ice cream from every stand within 10 miles of Kennebunkport, Maine.

Filled myself? Nope. But I enjoyed. Tasted and tickled my pallet. Dodged comments because I don't gorge myself like the boys + urged them to accept me as I am - even though I can’t wipe out 10 pancakes in one sitting or eat chowder, before a fried fishermans platter, washed down with a rocky road sundae. I feasted in my own right nonetheless -- on laughter + lobster. And left feeling fortunate that I went — grateful for what I have, not what I don’t.

The cherry on top is always the conversation around the table: There are no limits with the Youngs' -- no topic untouched, no person unscathed. Almost everything is innapropriate + hysterical, nonetheless. Without fail, bouts of laughter result in hazardous choking, happy crying, or falling off a chair.

we are the youngbloods. A rowdy gang of six — turned 7. (a warm welcomed sister in law) of emotion fueled firecrackers. we don’t need much - just a daily sweat for the ladies + 4x more food then fitness for the boys, a healthy amount of beer, strong air conditioning. Comfy beds, our own bathrooms and a getaway car for an easy escape. sheets must be cold + the oven always warm — full bellies full hearts + anticipation that we’re always one comment away from some sort of World War III.

Family is forever. I am fortunate that mine allows me to cook, loves to eat, never stops laughing, my mom never stops caring, my dad quietly listens while the boys rumble nonsense into nighttime. Competition fuels us but love defines us - it is the common language that brings us back to common ground -- even if it is often masked by mischief, judgement or misinterpreted otherwise. i faced the feeling that family judges. they do -- but only thru love. better together -- we are forever young.

#workhard #livyoung