BOGATA BLISS

My nephew Kevin is another one who always felt somewhat out of place, both in Dallas, and in our family. He hated our Martha-Stewart-Style holiday get-togethers, which were more about impressing people than about making them feel welcome and comfortable, and as soon as he was old enough, he opted out of coming to them altogether.

He went through several years of hell-raising, and being considered the black sheep of the family, then he met a beautiful brown-eyed girl named Goya. She took him to visit her family in Mexico, and instead of being treated like a pariah, he was suddenly a king. After all, he was smart, generous, handy with his tools and willing to help out wherever needed. He loved to cook and eat, made a real effort to learn Spanish, and was the most fun-loving, gift-toting uncle in the world! At last Kevin had found the kind of family get-togethers he could really get on board with - ones that were more about sharing than outdoing.

Growing up, we usually went to my uncle's northeast Texas ranch, near Bogata, around rodeo time. (That's pronounced buh-GO-duh, not BO-guh-tah. Remember, we're in Texas!) For us city girls, it was a bit of an ordeal. We never were too crazy about tromping through the fields, climbing under barbed wire (I had more ripped britches!), falling off haystacks and horses, and landing face down in the mud, or worse. My dear cousins got quite a kick out of watching us, though. And Kevin? Well, he adored it, and could never seem to get his fill of spending time up there. Eventually, he and Goya bought a piece of property nearby, and did much the same thing that John and I did - transitioning from the city bit by tiny bit, until finally they got the nerve to cut themselves loose altogether.

We spent all day Saturday in Bogata, helping them celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. Instead of raising hell, Kevin now raises chickens, doves, goats, and veggies (have you ever seen pumpkins growing up in a tree?), and instead of watching TV, he watches sunsets from his porch, and sunrises from a little boat on his pond. He has morphed into the king of family get-togethers, and has most certainly found his bliss. Let's all raise our glasses to Kevin and Goya, living the good life in Bogata, Texas!