It's all Relative

Day 103.

My aunt Jeanie came up for the day. My kids adore Aunt Jeanie for the same reasons that I did when I was little. And one of the biggest reason is her creative energy and abundant imagination. She never seems to tire of creative play, and she plays with Dylan in a way that is exhausting to me, but Dylan needs it.

From the moment she stepped in the door, they were acting out fairy tales together. Then made up "Mommy and Dear" segments where the dear (or dears, depending if Noah was into it each time) would get lost while the mommy was shopping. Not really sure what that says about my own chances of "losing" a kid in a store...Dylan was all too excited to play this out.

I am grateful for extended family.

People that know you for exactly who you are, and like you anyways. Love you anyways. Jeanie and I have a wonderful history, and now as an adult, it's amazing to relate to your own aunt in a totally different way.

I know as you grow up, growing apart from extended family is inevitable. You don't see your cousins as much as you do when you are little and your parents are getting you together all the time. You may see them once a year (or less if these cousins live halfway across the country!), so it's not easy to stay "friends."

But what I do know, is that we'll always be family. We have a history together, and no current friendship can quite match the depth of this. Plus, we are connected by blood, and having the same grandparents, for example, links you in intimate ways.

Here's to all my extended family - those I see a lot (thanks Jeanie for making the trip up!) and those I don't. I love you all for who you are...and treasure our history together.