I grew up in the middle of the country, with my mom's family on the west coast, and my dad's on the east. Needless to say, I don't have really close ties to much of my extended family. We just never saw them enough to develop that deeper level of familiarity and support. For the most part, I didn't really mind - I didn't know any different, and I think we had a strange sense of pride in our independence and ability to manage all alone.
Then I married Erik, and experienced what it was like to grow up on the opposite end of the spectrum. Almost all of his extended family lived in the same state, took vacations together, and got together for birthdays, special events, Sunday dinners, and holidays. It was overwhelming at first, and sometimes it can still be hard for me to accept that level of intimacy. It's just so different from how I was brought up. However, I am jealous of the deep relationships that Erik has with his family, and the memories he has with each one of them. I have relatives that I still haven't met...
Now that we are parents, I've realized how important it is to me to provide my children with opportunities to know their family. I want my children to know who they come from, and to be surrounded by love and support. I swore I'd never come back to Arizona, but here we are, partly because we wanted to be close to family. I don't know where we'll end up in 3 years, but for now, we're really grateful to see our Arizona family members on a regular basis and develop closer ties to them.
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| My mom painting nails with Morgan over General Conference weekend |
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| Enjoying a snuggle with my dad |
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| Sam hanging out with Erik's aunt Diane |
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| One of our weekly outings with my mom |
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| Playing dress up with Merkley second cousins |
3 comments:
I feel kind of the same way. I'm very close with my siblings but feel quite estranged from most of my cousins. I'm glad you get to spend some time closer to family for the next few years. Love reading your blog and seeing your cute family.
That is one of the main reasons I would love to end up back in utah...for my kids sake..being around family and their cousins, it is so important those family ties. I am close to my relatives and family and it has been hard for me being so far away these last four years, and knowing I have 6 more to go until we have some choice in the matter, makes me want to cry. At least we are within driving distance. Hope you guys aren't too hot out there. Your children are adorable too, btw.
Having kids really makes you appreciate your own kin! There are things you can ask your family to do that you would never ask anyone else ;) And it's so lovely to feel that support. As much as we have fallen in love with Austria, that fact is the magnetic pole that keeps us thinking we will eventually end up back in the states.
At this point, being a 4-5 hour car ride away from anyone would feel pretty sweet.
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