Family.....
First, I would like to thank you all for your kind words and sympathy.
Recently, Jen posted an entry about missing her family & living so far away, etc. Got me to thinking about my family. Anyway, it's actually the opposite relationships that I have with my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. In our family, my dad was an only child, but my grandpa had two brothers and my grandma had one sister. (Their siblings did not live in town, so we saw them rarely.) So, I had no cousins, aunts or uncles with the exception of great-aunts and uncles. Large family gatherings for that side of the family just didn't happen when I was growing up. Our family gathering was just us (mom, dad, sister & me) and my grandparents, which was fine; we were close and were able to spend a lot of time together. But, this week I saw my great-aunts & great-uncles, and some of their children (which are the same age as my parents) and realized I probably haven't seen most of them since my grandma passed away (Christmas Day 1995). Now that's sad.....
As for my mom's side, she is the youngest of 4. Each sibling had multiple children so I had lots of cousins, but we are not close at all. Because my mom was the youngest, many of my cousins were 10-20 years older than me. When that side of the family gets together, there's lots of us, but I don't feel that I know them. We all talk and try to catch up with each other's lives, but nothing too personal. I was close with a couple of them when I was younger, but everyone went their separate ways once out of school and married. That side of the family gets together 2 times a year with the exception of a special anniversary, wedding, baby shower, funeral, etc. We gather for Thanksgiving and Easter (which we celebrate on Palm Sunday and ended up not having a gathering anyway this year), however not everyone can always make it at the same time. We do not talk on the phone or email each other either. Many of my cousins, aunts & uncles came to the visitation (Grandpa was on my dad's side) and I realized that I had not seen most of them since Thanksgiving, some since the Easter before and some even since the previous Thanksgiving! The really sad part is that we all do live with-in 45 minutes of each other!! Our children are not really "growing up" together and don't know each other either. I would LOVE to have the really close relationships that the Johnson/Kirkpatrick clan has, no matter how crazy they may drive each other. That's why I LOVE being a part of their "extended family". I know them better than my own family (not counting my mom, dad, and sister). They may not seem "normal" all the time, but to me they are the PERFECT family. :o)
Recently, Jen posted an entry about missing her family & living so far away, etc. Got me to thinking about my family. Anyway, it's actually the opposite relationships that I have with my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. In our family, my dad was an only child, but my grandpa had two brothers and my grandma had one sister. (Their siblings did not live in town, so we saw them rarely.) So, I had no cousins, aunts or uncles with the exception of great-aunts and uncles. Large family gatherings for that side of the family just didn't happen when I was growing up. Our family gathering was just us (mom, dad, sister & me) and my grandparents, which was fine; we were close and were able to spend a lot of time together. But, this week I saw my great-aunts & great-uncles, and some of their children (which are the same age as my parents) and realized I probably haven't seen most of them since my grandma passed away (Christmas Day 1995). Now that's sad.....
As for my mom's side, she is the youngest of 4. Each sibling had multiple children so I had lots of cousins, but we are not close at all. Because my mom was the youngest, many of my cousins were 10-20 years older than me. When that side of the family gets together, there's lots of us, but I don't feel that I know them. We all talk and try to catch up with each other's lives, but nothing too personal. I was close with a couple of them when I was younger, but everyone went their separate ways once out of school and married. That side of the family gets together 2 times a year with the exception of a special anniversary, wedding, baby shower, funeral, etc. We gather for Thanksgiving and Easter (which we celebrate on Palm Sunday and ended up not having a gathering anyway this year), however not everyone can always make it at the same time. We do not talk on the phone or email each other either. Many of my cousins, aunts & uncles came to the visitation (Grandpa was on my dad's side) and I realized that I had not seen most of them since Thanksgiving, some since the Easter before and some even since the previous Thanksgiving! The really sad part is that we all do live with-in 45 minutes of each other!! Our children are not really "growing up" together and don't know each other either. I would LOVE to have the really close relationships that the Johnson/Kirkpatrick clan has, no matter how crazy they may drive each other. That's why I LOVE being a part of their "extended family". I know them better than my own family (not counting my mom, dad, and sister). They may not seem "normal" all the time, but to me they are the PERFECT family. :o)
posted by Diana at
4:47 PM
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