Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Theory of Relative-ity

My Grandpa's passing has brought back a lot.
It's brought back a lot of fantastic memories.
It's brought back a lot of memories of tough times.
It's brought back a lot of family members from across the U.S.

They're coming from Southern Indiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Colorado, and Montana. They're arriving bit by bit, so basically every night has become another get together to welcome another aunt & uncle or cousins that come rolling in.

My mom's side of the family has 7 kids.
From those 7 (w/ 6 living spouses) kids there are 18 Grandkids (12 Married).
Those 18 Grandkids have produced 20 Great Grandkids.

So, lot's of relatives. Really, these relatives genuinely love each other. The fact is that several live within 1 mile of each other. There's a special heritage here. There's a long history of highs, lows, and all the in betweens, and there's great comfort as we pull together to remember, mourn, and celebrate.

I sit under the shade of a tree planted by the generations before me.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Curt & I are confused. Whose the 18th grandchild? We counted Heath. Also, we only counted 17 great-grandkids. Again, who are we missing? Are there relatives out there that everyone has been hiding from us?

derryprenkert said...

You're probably not counting step grandkids and step great grandkids.

I'm tempted to add in our next child due to the fact that he/she is most likely already alive, and might as well add Mario and kids to the mix.