Big Pig Party

There comes a time in every fag hags career that you get the opportunity to choose to take one road or another with your friends. For those of you who don't know, let me explain how this works. Each hag is allotted one or more faggots. Sometimes a lot - sometimes a little - sometimes it depends on the season or the location. Faggots tend to be tempremental so, they tend to come and go.
I have been blessed with the greatest set of friends. And yes, they have come and gone through the years. Its only natural really.
Out of the group you are given, you may be truly blessed and have a very best friend. Sometimes its a bff (best friend forever) or a best girlfriend - depends on the guy really. I have been the luckiest bitch alive and have the best bff ever. But like I said, every trip has that road that gives you the opportunity to make a choice.
Many many years ago my family had what would go down in history as our worst family reunion ever. We had it at my cousin's cottage on Lake Huron - a beautiful place - right on the lake. My family brought our trailer (yes we had a trailer - why?) and I brought my best friend Rick. We took the train from Toronto to Stratford and drove with my parents the rest of the way - neither of us could drive then. I must have been about 24.
Rick and I always tell people that we met at a party: I buzzed the door and he answered it, made me laugh and I've never left his side since. For all intents and purposes, that's right. But it was more intense than than really. At that very first party, I got to the apartment - demanded to know who had answered the buzzer and didn't let him out of my sight that whole night. He made me laugh. I made him laugh. And at the end of those 2 or 3 hours I'd found the other half of my brain!
My mother adored Rick. He could do no wrong in her eyes and as a matter of fact, I think she is the only person that has ever ever said to me, "too bad he's gay". She always made sure to make him is favourite meal (these really disgusting super sweet spare ribs) whenever he came to town and treated him like the sun shone out of his ass and lit up the world. Sometimes I still think it does.
Anyway, we went to the cottage on Saturday. There was no room in the family trailer for Rick and I so we were sleeping in my cousins old tent trailer. As a matter of fact, my Uncle Chub had made the tent trailer himself so it was a homemade tent trailer - nothing classier than a home made trailer! And Uncle Chub is a whole other story.
Saturday was a fun play day at the lake. We swam out forever over the sandbars that go on forever out into the lake. We played in the inner tubes. We sat on the beach. We played volley ball. We did everything that we could wedge in. Dinner was bbqed something - but the best part was actually sitting around the fire later. We sat with my whole extended family - joking around, laughing at nothing and of course eating marshmallows and weiners on a stick.
When we finally stumbled to bed, we decided to put the sleeping bags together and sleep on the one bed, mattresses stacked in the name of comfort.
We talked until we fell asleep - mostly about nothing. This was something we did all the time - and still do. We get on the phone and talk about everything, nothing, people, places and things until one of us falls asleep and the other one has the good sense to hang up or fall asleep too.
I remember so clearly being just happy. Happy-happy-happy that night.
In the morning I awoke to Rick's horrific snoring. We were laying there face to face. At that point, he had long hair - beautiful naturally blondish and curly. I stared at his face, and even with those beautiful blue eyes closed, he was quite the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen.
And he loves me and I love him. And it wasn't of course in the traditional way that I always imagined someone would love me. There were no trumpets blaring and butterflies in my stomach. He didn't kiss me with a burning white hot passion. And of course there would never be sex.
He wasn't tall dark and handsome and riding on a white horse. He wasn't going to shower me with gifts. He was a vain, slutty, man-whore with an intollerance for people who ask questions. He lived life with no apology for who or what he is and who or what he does. He was hysterically funny and kind of mean. But then, as now, he is all I needed and in a totally untraditional way, he completed me - so sappy but true.
He was laying there beside me and I watched him sleep. I felt such overwhelming love. That very minute - that very day - that was when I decided that person who made me so very happy - that person was the love of my life. I would never let that go - no matter what.
During the day my family showed up in droves. Cousins, Uncles and Aunts from all over southwestern Ontario. My Mom and my cousins started to roast the WHOLE PIG over a fire. People brought the traditional Southwestern Ontario summer buffet foods: devilled eggs, jellied salads, many things with mayonaise and baked beans. All went nicely with the pig - right?
Rick and I did the same things we had done the day before and it was so fun.
Rick is a great person to introduce to any family. I have seriously in the 20+ years I've known him never heard anyone say that they don't like him. He makes a great first impression and I really admire that about him. Sometimes what I do is just watch him be him. As sad as that is it can be enough fun for me!
Supper came and we, of course were the first person to get to that big pig. Of course we were because my mother idolized Rick and whatever she could do to please him - like feed him - she would! We got our plate filled - loved it and....... hey - what was wrong with the pig? Well, apparently you need to cook a pig a hell of a lot longer than my family did! We and about 6 other people got the only edible cooked pork. The rest was a jellified jiggly salmonella filled mess. It ended up being mostly a vegetarian reunion. This in my family qualified as an unmitigated DISASTER!
We got back in the car, back on the train and home again - that part I know happened but don't really remember well. The thing about that weekend that makes it one of those times that I never forget is the sheer joy of being just who I was with just who I was with. My family and my very best friend.
That road you are given and the opportunity to make the choices - it is well worth travelling. Do we ever find love often enough that we should ever turn it way? Whatever form it takes whatever its length or its intesity, it is always worth taking that risk.