The Value of Family

For those that know me even somewhat well, you know that family is very important to me. Something about going through the ringer together has brought our small family together to be a pretty tight unit. We have lived apart more than together in the last 4 years and are hanging in there, so we must be doing something right.

Outside of the four people that live in my house though, I continue to appreciate the value of family as a whole. While living in the Junction City/Milford area, we enjoyed frequent interactions and visits from my family that lived in that area. My parents were hermits, but they always enjoyed when we went to visit them and always had a good time on the rare occasion when they came to visit us as well. I have always had a good relationship with my brother and really enjoyed the years that we lived close to each other. My kids always looked forward to visits from their Uncle Don and Aunt T! Today is no different. While we didn't visit them as much when we lived there, my sister Val and her family were some of our most frequent visitors during the lowest points of our lives. For some silly reason, they have even subjected themselves to having me as a "roommate" for more than a year while I work in Manhattan, but keep my home base in KC. My oldest sister Lorry has always lived the furthest away and the visits have always been a little less frequent. Sadly, the effort has been that great on my part to remedy that in the past. It is one of my 2013 goals to make some visits to Hutchinson and reconnect in a better way to that part of my family. It was a sad realization for me, when both my parents past away, that my kids would likely never have any memories of them. I do not have any memories of my grandparents. Three of them were dead before I was born and the only grandma I met died by the time I was five. Sadly, I just don't have any memories of her.

The differences between Kelly's family and mine have always intrigued me. Her parents were the first ones to the hospital when Elise was born and they lived 2+ hours away! I always chided my parents that it was because my parents were old hat at this grandparent thing. Kelly's parents have always been more involved. I used to drive Kelly's mom nuts giving her a hard time about that and I am positive that she went years thinking I wished they would just stay home. That couldn't have been further from the truth then, and certainly is far from the truth today as well. I am thrilled for Abby and Elise that they get to have so much interaction with their grandparents and that Kelly's parents are so active in their lives. I know that Abby and Elise will grow to cherish those memories for the rest of their lives. For most of Abby's life her Aunt Bri and her son Keegan lived and grandma and grandpa's house. That was just how it way. Going to Grandma's house also meant going to see Aunt Bri, but probably more important going to see her cousin Keegan! I have also always been intrigued by how my kids react to their Uncle Jeff. Until the past year, the didn't get to see him quite as often as the others, but nobody made them laugh more than their "crazy Uncle Jeff".

Being significantly younger (hahaha they will like that) than my siblings, the family dynamic was much different for me than it was for them. There were not many road trips back to Indiana to see our extended family and there are many in my family that I never even met at all. It is truly sad how time and distance keeps us from nurturing those family relationships that span the generations. My first trip to Michigan to visit Kelly's family was one of the most overwhelming experiences in my life. I am positive they have about 1,000 people in their family and all but 4 of them were able to make it to the family gathering. We have been together 18 years and I still couldn't place half of them if I had to. Each year at Christmas I have to ask "who are these people again?" I enjoyed our many trips to Michigan in our "pre-kid" days when we got to make the rounds to her extended family and I could actually put some faces to names. Maybe one day I will be better at the family name thing.

Recently my Uncle Ed and his two sons came to Kansas to pay their respects after my father passed away. They are almost the only extended family I have ever known during my lifetime and I have always cherished the times to get together. Sadly, that isn't as often as any of us would like either. It is always amazing to me, no matter how long it has been, how easily you can pick right back up where you left off with family. I am thankful for the people that live within the four walls of my house, but most of all, I am thankful for the many people all over the country that make up our extended family. They have been a huge support to us during our darkest hours and have been some of our biggest fans when all is going well. Take some time to tell you family how much you appreciate them. For my own family........thanks.