Family

I think we all have had that moment when we feel that our family is too crazy to be around. It's even worse when you have 7 siblings! I know what you might be thinking. "Hey it must have been like the Brady Bunch! That must have been so much fun!"

Well, I can tell you it was not. It was tough with all of the confusion, disagreements, and emotions. I could only imagine what my parents were going through with 8 crazy children ranging from infant to teenager. We all formed our own opinions about our family and we all chose our own road in life. We have all had our problems and conflicts which led us in different directions. I am sure you are now thinking that we are all living on separate corners of the country.

Interesting enough most of us are living within 20 miles of each other at this point. Only two are living far enough away that they cannot visit often. We get to share more aspects of our lives because of this. I get to see my four nephews and three nieces as they grow and I have another niece and nephew on the way! While they are crazy events, we do get to celebrate birthdays and holidays. My husband and I were even daring enough to host Christmas dinner at our new house this year!

I am not saying that our encounters are always enjoyable and we do not always meet in regards to good circumstances. However, we learned to notice each others stress and help each other cope with this stress. We still disagree with each other but we have learned to deal with this in more respectful ways.

It is really through family that we learn to listen, understand, and communicate with respect and love.