An Earthquake aids another dysfunctional family

I woke up early to hit a meeting, (my favorite thing to do on holiday mornings), and pumped up the radio volume to 105.7's classic rock song, "Yeah, You, shook me alll night long! The earth starts quakin, the room starts shakin..." I had no idea that song would theme the rest of 2010's Easter Sunday!!! It was so fun to have a couple out-of-town family members IN TOWN for a classic CA Natural Disaster tradition...a 3.something earthquake....in our city..SAN DIEGO! HOW fun to send one Corning, NY cousin back to work, after she rolled through Granddad's kitchen during the REAL thing, an earthquake. Why do I LOVE experiences like this? I'm giggling right now reflecting on my partner's sister's face and her southern husband's reactions as they sat at the dinner table with plates full of ham, apple salad, and Grandma's homemade mac and cheese with the overhead light swinging back and forth above their heads, like we're on a pirate ship. Too funny!... and I loved being a part of this family right in that moment. I mean...I can laugh now, now that our toddler is safely sleeping in his crib, (although there was another after-shock just 30 mins ago).

But at that moment that we realized we were indeed having an earthquake, we realized who we all were. I yelled the loudest and started throwing around orders, "Into the door frames!!! Everyone under a door frame, now!"...which is consistent with the fact that I'm not from this overall quiet family. I even tend to sometimes be shushed. My sweet, silly, and nervous sister-in-law ran out the door and down the street in tears....as we say to our toddler, "ILLEGAL!!!" My survival instincts screamed out, "Don't leave the pack! Stay together!! Oh, no, now we've lost one..." Our dozy patriarch, 94-yr-old Granddad just kept on eating. He said, "Well, I might as well go on an full stomach." And other family members sat quietly following direction, or just still in shock. But, AFTERWARDS, the re-capping, the soothing, the joking, the adrenaline, all offered new elements to an otherwise awkward average American family gathering. The food was GREAT, even for this vegetarian in a room full of meat-eaters, the food was phenomenal. And the earthquake was enough entertainment, as well as our 2-yr-old's first Easter Egg Hunt. :) I love my new family. AND, CA. I'll take Earthquakes over Tornadoes and Black Ice any day.