Family Together Again

It's Friday afternoon and I'm pooped. Chepa, with my Madeleina and her Sierra and Alexa, came in to Dallas-Fort Worth airport last night just after midnight. I started the drive, in Italo's borrowed Lincoln, but he insisted on taking over when the lines looked to be moving to me.
We picked up Chepa, Madeleina, Sierra and Alexa a little after 2 AM--my bedtime in the states is usually about 9:30 with a wake up at 4 AM or so--and I was nearly sleeping.
And when Chepa said the chips and soda I'd picked up for her--along with the roast chicken I'd made for them--were stupid and no good, I realized I still have a lot of anger inside. Thank goodness I kept my mouth shut. Because you know what? I know I'm still angry with her for what went wrong and how she handled it, but the other part of me still loves her and the third part is compelled to love her unconditionally. If not, there's no giving.
So while I nearly went beserk, having brought wonderful food and drink to the airport for them at an ungodly hour, while being put down for it, I didn't.
And then this morning, at about noon, when she came over, refreshed and not angry at having to leave her boyfriend and tired with having to move three kids onto and off airplanes, she was wonderful. My kids Marco and Italo were home, Madeleina found the jungle drum I'd bought her, Sierra decided to go over every skull I own one by one-- "Monkey. Monkey with big teeth. Tapir...deer....paiche. That's a fish, P, it lives in water..."
And the next thing you knew we were all laughing, and kidding and almost being a family. And that's all I ever wanted since I met Chepa. Well, that's the best thing I ever wanted... And we spend the afternoon at a garage sale, playing ball, singing into a crazy karaoke machine chep picked up at the garage sale, making good and decent food--lime chicken (boneless breasts dredged in breading and parmesan, topped with lime), a broccoli-cauliflower-red pepper-onion and garlic veggie, rice, cucumber and tomato salad with good vinegar--playing with th kids, watering plants, having a water fight...
Hell, if we weren't a broken family you might look at us and say we're a wonderful family. I know better and the kids know better, but only because they and me and we all know how much better it can be, even if it already seems great.
Still, I wouldn't trade days like today for the world. Days like today I am in heaven.