For the love of family...

Let me tell you a little about my mom's family....

My grandparents were teenagers when they got pregnant and then married. Add 17 years....nine kids later...they made things work pretty well (after some serious trial and error, of course). From the eight still living children....spouses...grandchildren (their spouses)....great-grandchildren....60 years yields a family of about 75 (give or take any pending births...someone is always pregnant).

And we still see each other often. Smaller groups gather often (my family unit has dinner once a week..usually with an add-on from another family unit), a family website provides weekly communication, at least twice a year the whole group gathers for a wedding and holiday, and we still go on vacation together!

We are old and young, liberal and conservative, religious and not, straight and gay, married and single, rich and poor (ok, we're mostly white). And...we LIKE each other...we WANT to spend time together....we long for it and wish we could see each other more. Not many people today can say they can not only name their second cousins but know them.

My daughter developed a nice relationship with my 'baby' cousin (who is now 25 and getting married). They played cards together (although with another 15 people, my uncle donating the betting money for the little ones). How cool is that?

I love CU, I really do...but what I miss most is my family and all the gatherings and gossip. I do make it up to the hub of the suburbs often (we do have a group in CA and FL)...but I often feel its not enough.

I so often tell them...but thanks Gram and Grandpa for creating such an amazing family to be a part of.