How Life Changes - Family, Part 1

Family.

We all have them - to one extreme or another. It's amazing the impact these "family members" have on our lives.

Here's the stats of my family as I was growing up:
Dad
Mom
Oldest sister
Brother
Other older sister
Me
Two grandmothers
One grandfather
Lots of aunts and uncles
Tons, and I mean TONS, of cousins. I counted them a while back and I have 72 first cousins. 72!!! The scariest part is that about 60 of them lived within 10 miles of my house, making family reunions, Christmas, weddings, funerals, more like our modern day-after-Thanksgiving-sale with tons of pushing, shoving, comparing. To say my extended family took the phrase, "be fruitful and multiply" to heart is an understatement.

It was wonderful!

Dad was a great parent. He was raised in the depression era by Dutch immigrants in a large family. I loved hearing stories of his growing up years. My Dad's family lived on a farm until not being able to pay the taxes during the depression left them homeless. Being hard workers, they soon rented a farm and life continued. My Dad was the youngest son and a bit of a prankster who got away with almost everything.

While my sisters and brother all strongly resemble my Mom's side, I looked just like my Dad. We were both blonds with blue eyes in a family of brunettes. I loved the gift of looking like him. I was a tag-a-long - and followed Dad all the time. I remember waiting for Dad on the corner of our street for him to come home at night and running home as fast as I could after him. He'd walk in the house, kiss my Mom and say, "Hello beautiful!" and my Mom would laugh. It was a great laugh.

We'd eat dinner as a family and afterward the "girls" would wash the dishes and Dad would read his paper and watch the news. Dad and I would watch "Hee Haw, Green Valley Jamboree, and Lawrence Welk," together. Talk about opposites! Maybe that's why I don't like country music to this day. Sunday nights, after church, Mom would make popcorn and we'd watch Bonanza. Such great memories.

My Dad died way too young from renal failure brought on by bone cancer. He was only 61 - I was 29. There isn't a day I don't miss him. Mom says I am SO like my Dad and she loves that. I still look like him, think like him, love to drive (he was a truck driver), have his temperament (for good or for bad), love Lawrence Welk and Bonanza.

Such great memories.