With extended family nearby, even minor holidays are occasions
Posted by Arwen Mosher
in Family
on Monday, September 01, 2008 4:30 PM
When I was a kid I didn’t see my extended family much. My mother’s parents and only brother lived five hundred miles away, and my dad’s many siblings and their children were scattered all over the country. We did visit sometimes, usually in the summer, but on holidays it was always just us: my parents, my five younger siblings, and me. It was fun, it was just relatively small.
A decade later, the family has evolved and we’ve got the new generation coming fast (our baby, due February 2nd, will be my parents’ fourth grandchild). My sister and I and our families live ten minutes from each other and only about ninety miles from our parents. My youngest brother still lives at home, and the middle three are at college or in the service, but still come home when they can for big holidays.
This means that on Christmas we’ve got an ever-growing number of people in all stages of life: little ones to keep things interesting (and loud), young adults to play with their nieces and nephews and laugh and invite their friends over, young parents to savor the opportunity to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee tea while someone else tends to their little ones, and older parents to enjoy the presence of their children and grandchildren.
All of us join in the popular pastime of pestering our serviceman brother to wear his Coast Guard dress uniform to every occasion that could possibly warrant it. (So far, Christmas and Easter Masses are the only times we’ve won that battle.)
The thing I really enjoy about our current situation, though, is that even minor holidays are occasions. When I was a kid, holidays like Labor Day were a very small deal. We’d have a cookout and some s’mores, but that would be the extent of the celebration. Otherwise, it would be just like any other vacation day.
Today, though, we’re back in our hometown to celebrate Labor Day. Camilla gets to see both sets of her grandparents and play with her cousins and my youngest brother. (The middle three don’t make it home for little holidays.) We had a cookout last night; we’ll have another one today; we’ll splash in the pool and enjoy the fun of three generations all together.
I had a great childhood, even with my extended family far away. But I think that with theirs nearby, my children will have it even better. I’m so happy to be able to give them that gift.
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Filed under children, extended family, family, holidays
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Comments
1. Posted by Mary on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 5:16 PM (EST):
Sounds wonderful...our situations seem to be opposite b/c I grew up w/our extended family all around us, always having cookouts & the like w/grandparents (both sides), aunts, uncles, cousins. And I always feel bittersweet that my kids don’t have that...both sets of grandparents moved to FL when my kids were babies (one not even born yet) and my husband’s side of the fam has all teenagers who are older than most of my kids (we have one teen). I was just thinking about this the other day so it’s quite timely that you bring it up here.
2. Posted by Dori on Monday, Sep 1, 2008 5:44 PM (EST):
It certainly is a blessing to live close to family. I remember as a child, my father was stationed in Alaska, with all of my extended family living on the east coast. Those holidays seemed lonely, even with my three older brothers racing around.
Go Coast Guard!!
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