Generations

Today, Scamp and I went shopping and to lunch with my grandma and one of her sisters, my great-aunt Lura. I grew up in a large family with close ties to all my extended relatives, especially on my mom's side. Her mom had 9 siblings, 5 girls and 5 boys total, and I knew every one of them plus my great-grandmother and great-grandfather. Both my great-grandparents have passed away along with one great-aunt but the rest of the siblings still try to get-together a couple of times a year.

It has been a wonderful blessing to have such a large extended family, and it's really nice for Scamp to be able to know and love them as much as I do. There is so much history they can all share and have shared with me all my life. I remember stories from my great-uncle Bob about growing up in the Great Depression. He was always excited on Christmas because he and his siblings would get an apple and an orange a piece and that was it. We don't even consider things like chocolate a luxury now. I hope I'm able to teach Scamp gratitude living in this fast-paced got-to-have-what-I-want-now society. I know I get caught up in that mind set way too often.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to listen and to learn. I hope Scamp is able to cherish the memories as much as I do.