family

Today I have been feeling rather sentimental and not just because it's Mother's Day. I've had one of those weeks where my preference is to hang by myself, stew in my thoughts and curl up in bed with a good book or my laptop. Today as I browsed old photos I thought back to all sorts of childhood memories. The biggest fights I had with my siblings back then was not being included to play or being told I had to stay on my half of the room. The eldest sister just plain out ignored most of us (I think my one brother was occasionally included in a conversation). I don't remember fighting much with my older brothers until probably the teenage years. And little brother, he was just the thorn in my side who took my spot as the youngest child. Talk about a blow to my little four year old self. That took 15 years to get over.

Now we're all grown and they all have families of their own. Sometimes it's hard to believe that they also go by Mom and Dad. We've all become different people, relationships have changed but we're still connected because of our Mom and Dad. That family bond can't really break, regardless of the grown up problems that do exist. I still marvel at my parents raising six of us. Babysitting more than two kids can make me feel insane. I can't even image having one of my very own running around, screaming, yelling, laughing, telling me no. But my parents did that SIX times over. They have six times the stress and six times the joy that I have. I'm not sad that I'm not a mother, I'm not even jealous. Sometimes I am actually relieved that I don't have kids. But I do wonder what it feels like to be so in love and so responsible for another person. It must be worth it because people don't usually stop at one.

The bottom line is that I am happy to have such a functionally dysfunctional family. Grown ups that will compete in Indian leg wrestles or jump rope competitions. Siblings that still get heated over forgotten mashed potatoes or no pumpkin pie. Parents that will send me a house warming card. A SIL that sets me up on a random date because she wants me to move closer to them. Nieces and nephews that put on "talent" shows.

We're our kind of crazy, which fits me just just right.