the Ya-Ya's

I am re-re-re-reading The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I absolutely LOVE this book, and am convinced that I would have fit perfectly in Garnet, Louisiana. If you haven't had the pleasure, it is all about a family in Louisiana with a playwright daughter, outdoorsy father, crazy and out-there mother, and the mother's 3 friends that she grew up with. They called themselves the Ya-Yas.

The entire book is about that family, and even if it is a totally dysfunctional family, it is about all of the things that tie them together. It is about Vivi sending the Ya-Ya-rebelia to Sidda, and learning about her past, and her mother's past, and her mother's friends past. How they were willing to call each other out when they did something wrong, how they took care of each other and their families. How they were family to each other. The Ya-Yas.

I got a call from my sister today. She's out in Oregon for Grandpa Jack's funeral. She just called to see how I was doing, but I have a feeling it was a check in for her too. Sometimes it is nice to talk to someone who understands, even if they are annoying sometimes! (Me, not her.) It is nice to talk to someone who knows how it feels to have lost all the same Grandparents. It was nice to talk to her.

We are like those beautiful quilts that my Mom makes. She takes little bits of fabric, and makes them into beautiful quilts. Her most recent project was to take different pieces of Grandma Bev's and Grandpa Larry's clothes, and make them into a quilt for my cousin Christina's wedding present.

I think that that's a good way to look at family. All of out imperfections are woven into the fabric that is our family, but if you step back and look at the whole thing, it's beautiful. And keeps you warm on a cold night. Family can do that for your soul.

So, I'm off to read about the Ya-Yas. Again. And crawl under a flannel quilt that my Mom made. I think I'll sleep well tonight.

K