at the beginning of the year...

reading this got me all nostalgic. I have always loved these big noisy family gatherings that were de rigueur since we were kids. Vacation time meant living in my grandparents’ house with our large family congregating from many parts of the country and filling up the large house to the brim. Our regular lives were parked aside and we gave up our privacy as easily as we laughed at the silliest banter. We shared bathrooms and beds. We shared plates and games. We clung to each other through our waking hours like we were joined at the hip. The generational lines blurred as the moments overshadowed the reason for gathering. Even when we met to grieve the loss of a dear one, strangely we were never sad for long. Over the years, parts of the family moved to far corners of the globe, grandparents departed for heavenly abode, the kids grew up but my fondest childhood memories are those spent sharing these moments of stuffy togetherness.