Sinatra

Last Friday night I took my niece, nephew, mom, daughter, brother and sister-in-law out to eat dinner in Tyler, Texas. An outing of this nature, involving 7 family members always has the potential of turning into a full blown fiasco. Just determining who will ride in which car can cause an argument and it did. Then deciding which of the four country roads to take requires the services of a mediator. At some point, there’s always someone who threatens to “just not go”. Once the caravan finally begins, the passengers of one car criticize the abilities of the driver in the other car. It’s harmless griping as we come from a long line of complainers. There is little wonder why almost immediately upon arrival; someone usually requests a wine list even before we are seated.

Once we were all settled in and decided who was sitting next to the window, etc., ordered an appetizer and made a toast, attitudes improved significantly. We all had a couple glasses of wine along with an incredible meal. We laughed, we gossiped, we talked about the past, the future, we made fun of each other, we made fun of complete strangers and generally enjoyed ourselves fully.

When we returned to the lake, Mom came over to the new house. My sister had just made it in from Dallas. I poured everyone a glass of wine and put on some Frank Sinatra. I watched as my mom tapped her feet to the beat of the music and seemingly drifted away from our conversation. When Frank sang, “All of Me” she listened intently and was in deep concentration. She said, “Music then, was sensual, not dirty. It’s supposed to be sensual.” With that, she took hold of her cane, stood up, walked over to a framed picture of her and my dad taken in 1939, stared, smiled and left.

So once again, what began as a potential family fiasco ended in a touching moment to be savored forever.