Home may be where the Army sends us, but home is also where my family is. My parents don't live in the house I grew up in anymore, although about a year ago they moved back to the town I grew up in and bought a house. I love being able to catch up with my parents and not being the only adult in the house. We're still outnumbered 4 to 3, but much better than 4 to1!
Last night was great. My brother Mark and his family came down from Ohio for a few days to visit. My brother Chris and his family live here in town and came over for dinner along with my nephew Wesley and my great-niece Kristina. We had 19 people gathered around the table last night. I only wish that we had more than one night to spend with Mark. I don't get to see him all that often with him in Ohio and us in Kansas. As much as I hate having to alternate holidays with each side of the family because my side is Tennessee and Scott's side is in South Dakota, I realize now that it can be just as stressful to have your family all in one place. Then each holiday you are trying to spend an equitable time with each side which means you are bound to inadvertently slight one side or the other. I guess if you're lucky the side of the family that barely gets to see you, doesn't complain about it.
Today I get to hang out with my nephew Hunter at the bowling alley. I miss being able to do things like this. Family has always been extremely important to me. Not just my siblings and parents, but also my aunts and uncles and cousins. I've always regretted that I did not know my aunts, uncles, and cousins very well. Not something I could avoid really because we lived so far away and with my dad's schedule we never travelled for holidays. Its not that my parents wanted to separate us from our family, it was just a fact of life.
Now being a military family we try hard to keep in touch with everyone. I didn't realize until recently that how much my aunt and uncle liked getting our pictures that we were emailing out. I stopped emailing them out to everyone except our parents as more and more of our family got on facebook. My aunt asked my mom why I wasn't sending them out anymore. I never had emails back from her, so I didn't realize how much they enjoyed them. Just because I don't necessarily hear from some of my family doesn't mean that they don't care about us and want to know whats going on.
We're family and we love each other regardless of our shortcomings and faults or our inability to communicate sometimes! So for the next two weeks I'm going to enjoy my family as much as I can.
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