Family

It's a Thursday in November and a good day to get back to posting about things for which I am thankful.

Today's thankfulness is for my family and extended family.

Chris and I continue to work through life together and through life's changing phases. It's a little ironic that she is typically the more liberal one and so you might expect her to be more open to change. But when it comes to family life, she has always been the steady one and is a little more conservative and less likely to make big changes.
She is still working, so our shift into retirement is gradual. I think that is working well. I've taken over most of the kitchen chores, so she has to endure my sometimes experimental meals. It seems to be a fair trade for not having to cook and clean up afterwards. Though she sometimes laments time spent in the kitchen preparing meals, she insists on traditional holiday meals and will still spend all day preparing them.
I still have plenty of time to myself (which I enjoy) and am already looking forward to spring and some nice motorcycle rides.

This past summer, we added a fine young man to the family ranks when Hannah and Daniel got married. I am very happy for them and they are off to a great start in their life together. With them living close by, we do get to see them for an occasional dinner. But they are young, busy, and we want to give them room to be on their own without feeling obliged to respond to frequent invitations from the parents.
Aaron and Jenny are enjoying their city living. I look forward to the few trips to Chicago and really like spending time in the city. I'll be there this weekend to attend an event with Aaron. I left the motorcycle at home this time, figuring that mid-November in Chicago may be a bit of a stretch for a long bike ride.

I have written about my parents and siblings before. I don't know that I can add much to what I have already written. They are simply the best. They are and have been good parents and are raising and have raised some pretty great kids, too!
The adult nieces and nephews are great young men and women and it is exciting to watch how they meet life's challenges. It is hard to believe how quickly they grow.

I also have great cousins. Though time and distance have separated us, Facebook has allowed us to keep in touch. I've noticed that some of them are getting pretty old. Since my dad was the baby of his family, we are generally the younger cousins. As one of the older siblings in my family, I do have a few younger cousins, but most of them are older; some -- much older!
And to my cousins on my mother's side -- I'm looking forward to an extended trip to the Philippines and Australia once Chris is also retired!

I hope that your families are also wonderful people and that you all get along well. So many families do not get along and have great stresses at gatherings or they do not ever see each other.
My mom recently shared that several of the grandkids have been asking when we're having another reunion. That's a good thing!

John <><