fAmiLy

I have been thinking a lot about family lately. I have an older brother with whom I am very close with. He calls multiple times for no reason at all throughout the day. Yes, sometimes it drives me crazy but when I think about it, on the days he doesn't call, I wonder where my phone call went. I think it would be really weird if he stopped calling every day! I talk to my mom almost every day and my dad once or twice a week. I don't know if that is normal or average but I like knowing that I am close to my family. My immediate family is who I have here in WA and almost all of my large extended family is in NY. I have an Uncle and two cousins in Texas. These two cousins are closest in age to my brother and I and yet I know hardly anything about them. I have four cousins in NY that are in the high school/middle school range. I feel guilty about not knowing much about their lives. It honestly makes me sad. We moved away from NY when I was nine. My extended family is very close to each other and I miss being around all of them. I always wanted to be the cool older cousins that they could come to and it is hard to come to reality and find that as much as I don't know about them... they don't know about me! I was so excited that two of my cousins came to my wedding last summer. I was crushed when the other four didn't make it. I was crushed when one of my second cousins didn't come because he and his side of the family were not getting along. I wish everyone could have been there but I understand that life doesn't always work perfectly. 

Last weekend, we were in Wenatchee visiting our newest niece. This past weekend everyone came to Bellingham for our niece Avery's baptism. This coming weekend, we are heading to Sammamish for dad's birthday. The following weekend, we are going back to Wenatchee for a baby shower. We are surrounded by family all the time and I love it! However, it is hard sometimes when we are surrounded by sister in laws, brother in laws, mother in laws, father in laws.... yes, all the in laws... and not find myself thinking about my extended family and wishing they were closer. 

Sometimes, I feel guilty that it has been two years and I haven't been back to NY. I think about all my childhood memories at each of my grandparents houses. At my mom's parents, we would run to the basement and play pool and drink orange juice and club soda just like Aunt Toni. We took our annual summer trip to Florida, all the girls and my brother. We had the big family bbq's in the summer and everyone was there. We would always go see movie's with my dad's parents and play uno out on the deck. On my birthday, my Aunt Kathy took me for mani and pedi's and my Aunt Tre and Uncle Gerard took us to all the cool places in the city and of course the Thanksgiving Day Parade! I miss being a kid but most of all I miss my family. 

I am looking forward to next year. We are planning on making a trip out to NY over Memorial Day. My brother is getting married in August and we will hopefully see EVERYONE out then. I love my family and I miss them. I am so grateful to have inherited such wonderful in laws as well! The more family the merrier!!! 

until next time...