24 Days of Thanksgiving - Day Nineteen

Today I want to talk about my extended family. That includes my grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and in-laws.

I've always been blessed in my extended family. I grew up with two complete sets of grandparents, all of whom I knew loved me dearly. I still remember my Grandad (my dad's dad) teaching me how to walk up and down stairs correctly, one foot per step. He and my Granny were always ready with big hugs for me. And I remember that Granny frequently had a stash of doughnut holes on her kitchen table for us to pilfer. And she took it as her duty as a grandparent to spoil us rotten. :)

My mom's parents, whom I called "Grandma" and "Grandpa" are a couple of the most wonderful people I know. My grandpa has this way of wrapping his arms as far around you as they could go, and hugging you so tight that it felt like he might squeeze your stuffing out. Grandma often worried that the grandkids didn't like her, but we all loved her dearly. And as I've gotten older, I've been able to get to know her better. I've discovered that she's really a very funny lady. She plays a mean game of "Surprise Face." ;)

My aunts and uncles on both sides have always been very fun and loving. I was never completely comfortable with my cousins on my dad's side, maybe because I didn't really get the chance to get to know a lot of them, but my aunts and uncles were always some of my favorite people.

My aunts and uncles on my mom's side, though, often felt like closer relations than just "aunts" and "uncles." My mom is the second oldest child in her family, so a lot of her siblings don't feel that much older than me. It may help that they're such a fun-loving, goofy bunch, that it often doesn't seem like they ever really grew up completely. And my youngest aunts, Kathi and Kristi, always felt more like older sisters to me than aunts.

I know the cousins on my mom's side fairly well, too, because we have a big family reunion every year. It lasts about two days, and we have a whole variety of traditions. And because I'm older than all the cousins on that side, I've known almost all of them from the time they were babies. So we're fairly close.

I've been especially lucky in my in-laws. My husband's parents are two of the most kind, loving, wonderful people I've ever met. When I first met them, I told myself that I hoped I had in-laws like them one day. It wasn't until a few years later that I started dating my husband, so at the time, I didn't think there was any real possibility that they would be my in-laws someday. So I feel like I really lucked out there.

And since Ben and I got together, they really have felt like a second set of parents. I call them "Mom" and "Dad," and it feels natural. I love them dearly.

I love Ben's siblings, too. I'm especially close with the ones who were still living at home when Ben and I started dating. Those younger ones in particular feel like my own brothers and sisters. And while I haven't had the opportunity to get to know the older ones quite as well yet, I feel a little closer to them whenever I'm blessed to spend more time with them.

I wish I could go into details about every member of my extended family, and tell you all the wonderful things about each of them, but with ten aunts, nine uncles, four grandparents, two parents-in-law, eight brothers-in-law, six sisters-in-law, and a multitude of cousins, that would be a huge undertaking.

Let's just leave it at this: I'm incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful extended family, and I'm grateful for each and every one of them!

And I apologize if this blog entry seems muddled or strange. I've been really sick today, and everything is a little fuzzy. Sorry!