• About

lifefromthestep

~ Just another WordPress.com site

lifefromthestep

Tag Archives: aunts and uncles

The Aunties

26 Tuesday Jul 2011

Posted by lifefromthestep in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

aunts and uncles, family, musings, sisters support, vacation

One of the reasons we camp in the Upper Peninsula in the middle of nowhere is that, once upon a time, my grandmother and grandfather stopped there overnight on their way back from dragging their brood out west. They dragged them back every summer after and the rest of us now go voluntarily–at least the adults do.

As a kid, I didn’t understand why anyone would drive that many hours to go to a place where, on many occasions, we wore snowmobile suits in July, the water was too cold to swim in, and the temps just too cold and the skies too cloudy to sunbathe. I was the only girl I knew who came home from summer vacation whiter than when she left. As an adult, thanks in part of global climate change and a different perspective on life, I totally get why we drive there. There’s nothing to do. We’ve done the hikes, collected the stones, visited the shops. We can do any or all of that again each year, or we can just sit.

And one of my favorite activities during our big family vacation is to sit with my aunts and listen to them kabitz. I’ve taken to calling them the aunties now that they’re all gray-haired. I don’t have a sister and watching these sisters support and tease and tell stories about one another warms my cockles, whatever those are. When the uncles join in it’s pure sibling sport. As my aunts and uncles age I see reflections of my grandparents emerging more and more strongly–my grandfather who passed away two summers ago and my grandmother who survived him, but no longer feels up to living rough for a week and riding in a car six hours to do so.

In a world where everyone is so busy they barely see their spouses and children, keeping touch with extended family becomes a seroius challenge. Holiday get-togethers are face-time, but scarcely time to touch base. True family bonding has taken place in our family in two places–the campfire and the hospital waiting room. Give me the smell of woodsmoke, a starry sky, and my dad’s goofy siblings over the smell of antiseptic and fear anytime. I’ll drive six hours for that.

Stuff I Write About

aging anxiety biomom blogging bridget jones catholicism colin firth daughters death divorce dreams empty nest ex-wife ex-wives facebook fall family fast food fast food review fathers food forgiveness freshly pressed grief harrison ford harry potter holidays home hugh grant humor ice cream jim dale John Calvin lists loss love marriage mcdonald's memories michigan midlife crisis Midwest mother's day mothers movies music musings new year's resolutions parenting pets pms politics pride project 365 project365 reading sex fantasies social media sons spring stepchildren stepmoms stepmothers stepparenting steve martin sweet autumn shake tattoos technology travel vacation whining winter women wordpress writing

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 37 other followers

Twit–tering

    Follow @lifefromthestep

    Categories

    • Ex-wives
    • Fast Food Reviews
    • Grief
    • Married Life
    • Musing/Ranting
    • My Brand of Humor
    • Parenting
    • Stepparenting
    • Uncategorized

    Archives

    • November 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • September 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • November 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011

    Top Posts & Pages

    • Cheese Puffs are Evil
    • Those unflattering views, usually from the rear

    Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

    Cancel
    Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
    To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy