Too much time had passed. And while we’d connected briefly (and infrequently) by phone, the tangible is better than the verbal, especially where family is concerned. so I headed south to see the Brights and bask in the laughter and acceptance they so readily offer. Of course there was food – my chronic hunger is a running joke – and chickenfoot – a domino game they introduced me to upon my last visit.
And there was a baby shower.
Turns out some things are unchanged despite geographic variation; the difference is solely in the details. This particular baby shower, with many of the well know of female Liberian social and power elite, everything was turned up a notch – or 10. There was a dj, complete with enormous speakers and an amp, TLCAfrica was present to take photos and report on the event, and the whole affair was catered by Rosie’s (and delicious doesn’t begin to cover it).
Of course it was a woman’s affair – at least until the sun went down. The games behind us (because apparently games are universal), the men filtered in and the music cranked up. And then the party was in full swing.
We headed back north and I spent the night with the Brights. More chickenfoot and jumbling towers (a jenga-like game) but this time with an addition of Berkeley, a nephew who returned to Liberia to live and work about a year ago. In true familial fashion we ribbed on each other in a running stream of good natured insults. You have to love family…and the Brights and their extensions have invited me in and made me part of theirs!