The Family Reunion

Last weekend my dad's family had a big Family reunion, the first in years! First one my husband has ever attended. It was something! Let me back up a minute. Both my parents come from rather large families... Rather large, LOUD families at that. The loud part isn't too daunting to a Dominican, Lord knows I've attended his rambunctious family get-togethers, but I'm OK with loud, as is he. We've done the reunions on my mom's side, which quite honestly can be a bit scary for other reasons, but we've gotten through surprisingly well. So, here we go, off to meet more paternal family... All. at. once. This is gonna be good.

My father's family is "huggy," overbearing, and chatty... And soooo generous and open-hearted. As overwhelming as it could've been (or was), I'm so proud of my hubby. He took it all in stride while I basically abandoned him. I tried to catch up a lil bit with everybody while chasing accident prone boys and dealing with unexpected poopy accidents. {Yes, we're still potty training. No, we STILL have not perfected it after the last 6 months.} But basically we could call the weekend a success.

 He loved getting to know my family and I think my family embraced him as well. I give credit to his social butterfly tendencies and my sincere, loving aunts, uncles, and cousins. Bringing families together can sometimes create drama and problems. Everyone's family has some crazy in it, but it's when you embrace the crazy, rise above the drama, and remember the love that an opportunity is created to genuinely connect with long lost friends. And also with different, new members and their cultures. Regardless of our differences, I say: Long live family.