A Family Christmas To Remember

I come from a pretty decent sized family of six. Well, seven maybe even eight if you count my elder sister's new husband and my younger sister's boyfriend of EIGHT + YEARS! The core family is two parents plus three girls and one boy. The boy was second. He is my older brother and he came to visit for the Holidays. It's always a pretty big deal since he lives in TX and rarely gets to visit us.

I don't think I've mentioned him much on this blog but here's the low down: He's a doctor/officer in the US Army who recently overcame cancer as well as a divorce. He's one tough dude and hilarious to be around. Despite what you may think, there are very few Army v/s Navy jokes in the house. Possibly because my mother has ingrained us all with "let's all be pleasant" manners. Or, perhaps because neither my brother nor I care that deeply about the branch of armed forces we belong to. Either/Or - who cares.



Dr. Bro (which is his name from here on out) came into town last week. Lil' Sis (my younger sister) came in on Christmas Eve. Sissy (the elder sister) and her husband came over to the house on Christmas Day for Christmas Dinner (as pictured in the previous post). Yes, there was lots of family about. And we connected. For the most part anyway.


I'm a middle child, so I only have one perspective on the matter and I know that there are many. As a middle child I find that I am constantly trying to bridge the gap between family members and sometimes find myself wanting to fight another family member's fight. This year I decided to be "Switzerland" and remain neutral. Best. Choice. Evah.


Our family is not perfect - though we have the same sense of humor and can have a rocking good time when we get together. In the long run we are loyal and that's the most perfect word I can use to describe our clan.


Once I decided to keep out of everyone else's business I was able to enjoy myself. That's the lesson I learned this year. It's one that I intend to implement at every family event. They only happen once or twice a year and we should be happy for the occassion to arise. We are family. We are one.


Here's to my family: I hope I see you all more often than twice a year in the future. God Bless and Happy Freaking New Year!