I am blessed to be connected to such caring people through DNA and marriage. Today I am grateful for my family – close and extended.
We have always had a close family and throughout my life I have loved and appreciated times when we gather. My cousins (as I’ve mentioned before) were my first playmates, my aunts and uncles, my grandparents always watched out for us too.
We don’t always agree, we may not gather often, but, what I love about my family is knowing that when we need someone – they are there. No questions, no hesitation- everyone is willing to support, help, love, and care for each other. That is a beautiful thing in this world.
laura-jeanne.com 
Hi Laura-Jeanne:
I’m glad that you have had all this connection with extended family. Sadly, all my relatives lived in England and Scotland so I had little connection with grandparents and cousins. We did have wonderful godparents who allowed us to call them “grandma” and “grandpa”. We had wonderful times with them and their grandchildren did seem like cousins. My godmother was a wonderful cook and I have memories of really good roast beef Sunday dinners. My godfather was an avid gardener and I learned a lot about gardening from him and my mother.
Despite this, I often felt the lack of family connection especially on Sundays. Sundays in my community were reserved for church in the AM and visiting family in the PM. Since we were neither church goers nor had family in the area, Sundays were usually a solitary day for me.
When I married my hubby, we had lots of family connection as several relatives live in the city and other family members visit fairly regularly with the exception of this past year due to the pandemic. I’m grateful for these connections because I was concerned that my children would grow up like I did with little connection to extended family.
I’ve also become aware of how difficult it can be for people that don’t have a family connection when they get older and have no one to turn to for help. A few of my friends are in that situation and it is really tough at times for them. Yes, families are a real blessing.
I love this, Susan. Thanks for sharing.