Family Ties ...

As children we live in the moment and hope for sunshiny days. We spend three hundred and sixty four days waiting for the big one. That amazing day.

YOU KNOW THE ONE.

WE ALL HAVE IT.

YES.

OUR BIRTHDAYS!


I can remember being so incredibly amped up on the eve of "the big day" that I felt sick.
...nerves, nerves.
Where are my presents?
When are we having cake?
When can I open my presents?
Who is coming over?...
...Nannie, Pop?
...Nana, Pop?
...Nan and Bull?
When can I open my presents?
...who from Mom's side?
...who from dad's side?
...which cousins?
When can I open presents?
...Can I have friends or is it just family?

The much anticipated day came and went. Then the countdown to the next big one started.
Those "big days" are filled with great things including family.

If you noticed, like many kids now... I too had more than two sets of Grandparents. This allowed multiple family tree branches. Some are rowans thick with blood relations, while other leafy stems hold blossoms that flowered "non- blood" ties. These blossoms are as integral a part of the tree as any sturdy branch. We need the fruit and the flower in order to continue, just as we hold dear the branches that carry them. Children thrive in this beautiful, but structured environment.

Does this make any sense to you?
I have to admit sometimes, here, in the middle of the night...
...I catch myself on a ramble.
Things like fluffy pink bunnies, petal pink lace and skipping through my living room pop into my head. I indulge and skip around with a bunny.
Why not?
If I do this too often...You know the ramble thing...
...reel me back in! (aka: comment away)

I'm bringing up family because what we think are simple, human relationships as children are a series of intricate branches. They become complicated with adult insight.

Family is "normal."
...then messed up.
...We question what "messed up" means.
...We question: How strange "perfect" families out there must really be.
...We conclude with: There is no such thing as "normal." Therefore every family is technically "normal."

I've said it.

---RE-CAP TIME---

We all have normal families because there is no such thing as normal. There are only degrees of abnormality.

That made me feel great! I hope it did the same for you.

When I was a kid I thought that life was peachy.
I had the prettiest, nicest Mom in the world.
My Grandparents constantly stole me away on vacations and sleepovers.
I had a new Dad that loved me and my Mom a ton.
I even had a lot more relatives thanks to the addition of "the new dad."
Life was a bowl of cherries.
After a brief, seven years on the planet isn't this how you should feel?

I hope that you're thinking YES.

I think of my beautiful, rosy cheeked girls. I hope that life is peachy for them. From my adult perspective it's full of sky scrapers to scale. I'm hoping that it takes a dozen or so years before they manage to develop a scewed adult viewpoint.

Somewhere during the teenage years Mom and Dad became the enemy. Grandparents worried too much and I realized that no one was perfect. They were riddled with anxiety, health concerns, stress and addictions. Relatives that couldn't stand each other held family meetings and mini, self concocted therapy sessions in order to come together for holidays and play Santa. The Nannie that never uttered a foul word in her grandchildren's presence cursed like a drunken, sailor in adult company.
I have to thank them. They managed to give me that peachy childhood. It was far from perfect, but remember...
...they never are.

I'm obsessing over this topic because mine has been a family heavy week.
I've purposely shared time with sisters and cousins and unexpectedly bumped into others in the oddest places.
- DMV being one of them!

Meet Julia...our au pair extraordinaire. 

My cousin and I try to keep in touch. Amy has always felt like more of a sister to me. We live in the same town and have six girls between us! Yes, we are the all female Brady Bunch folks.
However we're not lesbians.
...and I have an au pair, not a maid.
Our girls are cousins and at times, her Amanda and my Addi, who are close in age, like us...
... aggravate each other more like sisters would. They also play beautifully together and are more similar than they think. As their Moms we know this. As kids, they don't. That's why we're going to keep throwing the two of them together as often as we can!
We aren't selfishly motivated..
...I swear!
WINK...WINK...

Whether we visit constantly or don't have time to schedule anything around multiple sporting events, after school activities, play - dates or business obligations...
...We are there and we do care.

WE looooovvvee...

Aunt Marnee's...

home-made....

macaroons...

They just won't fit...

in our mouths with one bite!

Our first sleepover with cousin Amanda. It was a blast!

This brings me back to a song that I once blasted in my bedroom and my parent's car, to their dismay! It's a little ditty by a band called Faith No More. (Wow. I felt rather British with my "dsimay" and "ditty."...Note to self: Be a Brit more often.) The song is called We Care A Lot. It gets political at points but these stanzas sum it all up.
Enjoy.
I'm singing it.
Sing along if you know it!
...or just play it really loud!


We care a lot about the garbage pail kids, they never lie.
We care a lot about transformers because theres more than meets the eye.
We care a lot about the little things, the bigger things we top.
We care a lot about you people, yeah you bet we care a lot.
Yeah!

Said its a dirty job but someones gotta do it.
Well its a dirty job but someones gotta do it.
Said its a dirty job but someones gotta do it.
Well its a dirty job but someones gotta do it.
Well its a dirty job but someones gotta do it.
Said its a dirty job but someones gotta do it.
Said its a dirty song but someones gotta sing it.
Woah!

Kids love their "messed up" families. Don't forget to love yours!


Read more: FAITH NO MORE - WE CARE A LOT LYRICS http://www.metrolyrics.com/we-care-a-lot-lyrics-faith-no-more.html#ixzz1nYTcqIVh
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