extended family
All about how to stay connected, strengthen ties and talk politics with your big, happy extended family.
The Most Beautiful Thing I've Ever Seen
On the day of our first date, we had been together for 33 years, six months, and six days, and the wild was still in her eyes. She twisted her long black curls, now streaked with silver into a bun on top of her head, and cracked her knuckles. Her fingers were still covered in the turquoise rings that I had bought her on the road trip to Santa Fe when we were in our twenties. Back then, we couldn’t even afford a tent, so we snuggled together in the desert night and let the light of the stars keep us warm. Lord, how the times have changed.
By Ella R Kerr5 years ago in Families
The Treasure Box
A number of years ago when my granddaughters were all younger from 4 to 12 we would go on a week long camping trip along with other friends who had small children there was a mixture of boys and girls, the mothers and aunts would get together and decide what would make the camping trip a memorable one. This year I decided to do something on my own for the kids, I created a authentic looking map stained with tea on parchment paper used black ink with a odd looking compass but you could well see that it was a compass, then I had a wooden box made with a pirate and crossbones burned into it, rummaged through my cosmetic jewelry and stuffed it into the box this was looking pretty cool for kids to dig up!
By Branda Trickett5 years ago in Families
The Next Few Years Will Be Good for Ancestral Research
Back when I started researching my family tree in the early 2000s, there were a lot of personal family tree websites online (with varying degrees of accuracy) and often the creators of those sites lacked a sense of privacy and identity theft concerns. Fortunately, people seem to be more aware of those issues these days. Family history books which contain private information about living people and were written before the internet existed no longer seem to appear in Google searches, which is a good thing!
By Tom Cooley5 years ago in Families
Hot Summer Nights
Hot Summer Nights My moms sister, my Aunt Sally, was kind enough to offer to take Matt and I for a month in the summer before my eighth grade year, the parents couldn’t pay for the plane tickets fast enough. I was twelve and Matt was ten and this was to be our first vacation away from the parents, and Vice versa.
By Gregory Dolan Dies5 years ago in Families
LuLu Arrives
LuLu came into our life desperate to get out of the place her old people called home, she was a mess, at best. She hadn’t been bathed or groomed in years and had been living under a porch for going on five years. She’s a sensitive gal, eighty pounds of sensitive. When her owners brought her over we weren’t looking for a dog this big, this dirty and this ungroomed, but destiny strikes at odd times and you take advantage of it.
By Gregory Dolan Dies5 years ago in Families
Dear Gertie,
Sighing, I placed my paintbrush on the drip tray. My swollen feet and aching back were crying out for a break, but with the baby's due date rapidly approaching I'd been hoping to finish the mural on the nursery wall today. I took a few steps back to survey my handiwork. Friendly animals peered out at me through lush vegetation and a riot of wildflowers. I had incorporated Gertrude's favorite colors and flowers in the mural as well as placing little mementos of her throughout the room.
By Elisabeth Mayer5 years ago in Families
My Cousin Naomi, Knot Redefined
Dear Naomi, I've been thinking about you a lot lately, with fingers crossed, sending out prayers and good intentions that your up-coming appointment with the specialist will bring good news and a healthy prognosis. You're an amazingly strong woman, and I know you will get through this, but it's so unfair that you have to face it. You've been through more than enough shit already.
By Peri Livesey5 years ago in Families
Tiny but Mighty
Dear Aunt Maggie, No one in the family ever talked about it. But in order to be brought to the States by your uncle and sold to my grandfather’s brother at age twelve, you must have been around seven when you were orphaned. Auntie Filor was even younger, maybe five.
By Gaylon Emerzian5 years ago in Families
Dearest Doris
Dearest Doris, I can’t believe it has been over four years since you left this world. I didn’t have a lot of friends, and even fewer close friends. You were the closest. I never had a sister, but if I did, I could only hope she would have been someone like you.
By Janice DiMichele5 years ago in Families
