Thank(mas): Family - Part 1

Callie was still hiding inside Pam at this point.

As of last night, 10 out of 11 of my immediate family members were together under one roof.  Two parents, six sisters, two brothers, and a baby niece. We are an overwhelming bunch to say the least, in so many ways.


We could be overwhelming because right now, Glenn and Sarah are eating lunch and talking historical and educational discussion of the church etc, and different classes they have encountered while Sarah works on her Bachelors at UNC and Glenn works on his PhD at Marquette.



Or maybe its the abundance of opinions given. That you look angsty, that you are helpful, that you are pretty, that you shouldn't use that glass, that you need to not pass a baby around, that you need to eat more, that you need to eat less, that you need fresh air...we are terribly interested in everyone else's life.

Baby niece Callie, and my sister-in-law, Pam.

Or maybe its the volumes we reach. Between Callie's crying, and Bo's blowing rasberries to entertain her, or sisters laughing, or dropping pots while washing dishes, or us trying to have conversation across the room.

Or maybe we are overwhelming because there is so much unspoken. So many habits, and traditions that we don't realize we have. Unspoken cues, like random chocolate in the pie cabinet is available, but the Christmas cookies on the porch should not be touched before Christmas Eve.

Or maybe its the stories we tell - or our bluntness - or the over abundance of sarcasm or that we have theological books like Bonhoffer and Banner around the house that we actually read and discuss.

Sometimes Callie gets overwhelmed and starts crying...
Sometimes I want to join her. 

But I think what is so overwhelming is our sheer number and the level at which I love them all. As I sit down to write about them I am overwhelmed. Everyone last member of my family from Bo (father) to Callie (baby niece) has a beautiful, strong personality that I could write volumes on. I keep having to step back and make myself take a breath and not try to experience everything at once.

Hopefully, I will write on specific parties within my family, that's my plan, but family has a tendency to happily through plans off.