sing a song of my sisters
May 13, 2003, 9:07 pm

Because my sister Nicki had to work on her birthday (lame), family dinner was this evening instead of yesterday.

Her choice for a restaurant? Outback Steakhouse.

I HATE Outback.

"But Jess," you may say, scratching your head, "Outback is awesome!"

Um, no. I don't like hardly anything on the menu except for the Sydney Sinful Sundae and the coconut shrimp appetizer and I am SO not a picky eater. I just get the coconut shrimp appetizer for my meal and drink lots of lemonade.

"But Jess," you may say, "what about the starving children in some third world country whose families can't afford to take them to second-rate hideously-stereotyped Austrailian steakhouses? Shouldn't you shut your trap and not complain?"

Listen, I'd be more than happy to offer my place at the table.

My sister dropped the f-bomb nine times at dinner (well, she mouthed it) through telling several stories. Yaya was, quite understandably, appalled. The problem I'm noticing in my old age is that my parents have actually become cool. They were very strict while I was growing up, and no they're a little TOO cool, which is kind of scary, because now things like cussing and tales of drunken debauchery don't bug them because they're joining in. It's disconcerting, to say the least.

They're leaving tomorrow for Chicago with Christina, as her college softball team is ranked #1 in the COUNTRY (whoot, whoot) and she's 2nd-team All-American. I'm very proud of my little sis, bursting even.

Driving home from Outback, Christina pumped a cd she burned a few days ago. "That Summer" by Garth Brooks came on. My sisters and I exchanged surreptitious glances and surpressed smiles.

When I was a freshman in high school, I fell for a guy who was obsessed with Garth Brooks, and he made me a few tapes. These tapes turned into me purchasing a few of the cds and my sisters singing along; "That Summer" has always been a sisterhood favorite to blare and belt.

So we sang, much to the amusement/horror of Nicki's boyfriend, Nick (no, really, that's his name, though it isn't hers), and it felt good.

Christina burned us a "sister cd" a while back, and tonight, I'm working on a Volume 2: The Soul Power Remix. Included on Vol. 2 will be the aforementioned Garth Brooks tune, the "Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta" song from the Office Space soundtrack, "Semi-Charmed Life", "Too Late" by Carole King, "I Want a New Drug" by Huey Lewis and the News, and various fun tunes from the 80s that we would sing in our pajamas and/or naked as children.

I'm lucky that I have the sisters that I do. I think every sibling set has their problems and I know in some ways I can be troublesome to them sometimes, and we've had our share of really tough times, but we've come out of the teens okay. I think we'll still all be Maids of Honor in each other's weddings...

Well, maybe.

Ooh! I have to put the "Sisters" song from White Christmas on the cd. Parasols and Easter dresses...mhhmm...that was us.