my extended family
june 19, 2005
^ CM
growing up, i've always had a rather large extended family. but that doesn't mean i ever really did much with them. they lived only 11 miles away but they might as well have lived in new york for that matter since i rarely saw them. all of them lived in a cluster together while we maintained a sort of exile from them all. it was obviously orchestrated to exist like that.
sure, i saw them from time to time throughout the year at 1 or 2 birthday bashes but not to the degree where we would "hang out" and be anywhere where we can be defined as "close". part of me craved wanting to have more time and interaction with my aunts, uncles & cousins - to be like one of those families i saw on tv. another part of me had already learned to deal without them. i always reminded myself that you cannot choose your family but you can choose your friends to be like your family. and that has always been the adage i chose to live by.
i would lie if i said that i wasn't envious of others who have great relationships with their cousins. cousins who were even closer than your own siblings. i often times felt like i had neither. that is one downfall of being the youngest with a big gap in between your siblings and not having an active relationship with your extended family.
but ever since my brother got married and i got married (lightyears ago mind you), my sphere of family has grown. new aunts, new uncles, new in laws, new cousins, new everything. we are really fortunate that TGILW's cousin, CM, has recently moved to san diego. previously, we would only see him every 2-3 years when he visited from the east coast but now, he's only 1.5 hours away.
eggplant borani (appetizer dish of fried eggplant sauteed
with onions & garlic served with pita bread)
today, we finally met up with him after his cross country drive and went to have lunch at caspian persian restaurant. i have been wanting to dine here for awhile now because i love persian food and i heard this place was pretty darn good. and you KNOW how much i love to try out new places. it turned out to be as good as i expected and it was HUGE inside. i can imagine having a rocking party in here when they have live music going on. the best part of our lunch was the fact that we got to catch up with CM. he always has this sense of mysteriousness to him since he's so quiet but i'm so happy to have more family closer to us now. and i know TGILW is over joyed as well.
chicken kabob with bone (juicy skewered chicken served
with basmati rice)
fesenjon (my fave! pomegranate walnut chicken stew
served with basmati rice & crispy rice)
koobideh combination (lean ground beef and ground chicken
skewers served with basmati rice. so juicy!)
persian ice cream (rosewater flavored ice cream with
pistachios. definitely an acquired taste but i love it)
Caspian Restaurant
Heritage Square
14100 Culver Drive
Irvine, CA 92604
949.651.8454
^ sofia with her other grandpa
after lunch we headed to my brother's place and hung out for a few hours. i got a chance to catch up with my my sisinlaw, nieces and my sister in law's parents as well. it was a fun afternoon playing play-doh playoff (i'll explain that another time), reading to jasmine etc. in many ways, i feel like i'm experiencing life with my extended family that i've been wanting for a long time now.
^ CM is so patient with miss jasmine
currently listening to: yaz, only you
