As you know, one of the things I hate most in this world is packing.  But I find myself here again.  Staring at an empty suitcase, pondering clothing options for four days and three nights away from home - and wondering what other task I can perform to take me away from the inevitable.  So I’ve decided it’s time to reorganize my underwear drawer.  Or maybe I’ll vacuum again.  Or clean the toilet.  Or pull each hair from my head one by one.  Or dive into a vat of bees and roaches.  All significantly more appealing options than sifting through mounds of clothes and toiletries.

So, where is my weekend destination, you might be asking.  Well, I’m off to the great state of Oklahoma and the annual Wynn cousins reunion.  Not necessarily as exciting as a weekend in Vegas or San Fran, but a girl can use a low-key destination from time to time.  And Hammon, Oklahoma, is, if nothing else, low key.  When I was younger, this trip would have seemed a bit more like an obligation.   But these days, I quite enjoy it.  Now, it’s about history.  And spending time with relatives…really interesting, intelligent, genuine people…who love me, because I am them and they are me.  And they look like me.  They talk like me.  We have the same mannerisms and sense of humor.  I see now what my parents have always told me.  I am a “Wynn”…no doubt about it.  And I like that.  I’m proud of that.  Plus, they feed us well.  Good, down-home, farm-style cookin’…fried okra, and fresh black-eyed peas…four-course breakfasts and homemade death by chocolate.  Yes, my healthy eating regimen will be taking a hiatus this weekend, and this gal will be suffering not a moment of guilt for it.  Zits be damned.

We will be staying with my “Aunt” Kaye…my mother’s original, Oklahoma born and bred, won’t turn on the heat in 30 degree weather, foul-mouthed, hilarious best friend who I adore more than life itself.  And if you’ve been around since the inception of “The Anomalous Life”, you know Kaye as the sidekick to her man-friend, Michael, who - months ago, in a dark restaurant, high on a lonely red hill in Western Oklahoma, told me that I was an anomaly.  Just before we headed out to gamble away all our pennies in a smoke-filled Cheyenne casino.  Let’s all bow our heads to Michael, for his words were the inspiration for this very blog you read today.  Maybe someday, if I play my cards right, Michael will no longer see me as an anomaly.  He will simply see me as his “Precious No. 2″ - second only to his ”Precious No. 1″ (Kaye).  A girl needs her goals.

I have sufficiently stalled and must now get back to the painful, torturous task of overpacking my mid-size case with completely inappropriate reunion attire.  I wish you all a “precious” weekend and may the rain gods bless Houston in our absence (and spare Iowa).

Peace out.

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