Generations

Family is incredibly important to me. I have been blessed with a close-knit, without being overbearing, family and I am often reminded of just how amazing that it.

My Aunt Deb stayed with us this weekend before flying home to Illinois. She hung out at the Washington Square mall while I attended to my housecleaning job. When I called to tell her I had finished she told me she was sitting with Aunt Lou at the mall.

I live about a mile from my great-aunt, but they are always on the go and so are we so we have not gotten together since we moved here. We see each other at family functions and I often see their car driving down the road. It was so nice to sit and listen to my aunts talk about marriage, family, raising kids, etc. Things that I have very little knowledge on, but enjoy listening to.

As I was listening to the wisdom that comes with 80 years of life and nearly 60 years of marriage, I looked over at Aunt Deb and how intently she was listening to Aunt Lou. It suddenly struck me that there were three generations sitting at the table. My Aunt Deb who is my best friend and mentor, and her aunt who has been her mentor and is also my aunt. This is my family and even at 25, er, especially at 25, I still have so much to learn from them.

When Aunt Deb and I left we talked about how much wisdom Aunt Lou has and how helpful it is to hear advice on life and the situations we are in now from the perspective of someone 20, 30, 50 years removed from it. I told her how fitting it was for Aunt Lou to urge us to live "real" lives, have real discussions about thoughts and ideas, and to be honest with people about how we're feeling considering my current state. I also shared how I was completely overwhelmed to be sitting with my two aunts and all I have to learn from them. Aunt Deb replied, "Whenever I'm in those situations I think, 'This is my family. This is who I come from,' and how amazing that is."

I love my people. I am very much a family girl. I hope one day I can share this same experience with my Aunt Deb and my own, God willing, niece. I look forward to seeing the growth in myself, and my aunt 25 years from now.