It Runs In The Family

Far right, Louis Benjamin Tyus, my grandmother's father as a little boy. 

I have to say, it's probably rather cliche but very true, the older I get the more I feel a need to know about and celebrate those who came before me.

I'm so lucky to have family who live only a couple of hours away, and with older generations passing on as the years go by, I feel I need to tap into that familial connection more and more every year. I love taking the kids to meet and catch up with extended family, the ones who saw me grow up and were by my side emotionally during Dottie's time in the NICU. The ones who my kids are named after.

It's so important to me that our rather small family stay close knit and don't forget where we come from. I try to make trips to Mexia a couple of times a year, but definitely find myself yearning to make those trips more frequently as my babies get older.

I want them to know how many people love them and as they grow, I want those same people to be able to tell them stories about those who have passed. I don't know every story, not by a long shot. But together we can paint a picture of what these people were like, and what characteristics they bestowed upon the rest of us, simply by being who they were.

I suppose what I really want, is for my babies to care about family the way I do. I want them to also feel deep connections to the past, as well as the present. Only time will tell if I will succeed. In the mean time, I plan to do all I can to make the past part of our every day and to inspire them to understand and accept the feeling of unconditional love and support that comes from allowing yourself to be loved and doted upon simply because you are family, and for no other reason.