Family Time
Monday, September 30th, 2013From Monday Mom – Neetika:
Over the weekend we spent some time with my extended family to celebrate my favorite cousin’s 25th birthday. It was a really nice event. The best part of it was that my brother, who lives a few hours away, and one of my cousins, who is now a freshman in college, were both able to come home for the weekend so everyone was there. Haley wore inappropriately fancy clothes, but of course no one minded. She enjoyed running all over my aunt’s house and getting attention from so many people who adore her.
As far as I can tell, kids understand from a young age that their relatives are different from other people. Even if it’s been a long time since Haley has seen an aunt or uncle, she doesn’t have her usual level of shyness. She becomes comfortable much more quickly. She clearly has this idea of “these are my people.” I don’t think she completely gets how we’re all related, but I think in a year or so she will. It’s fascinating to watch.
Haley’s favorite part of the festivities was when she realized that there was cake involved. It was hilarious. My aunt set the cake on the kitchen table a few minutes in advance of putting it out to sing Happy Birthday. Haley camped out in a chair right in front of the cake as if she was guarding the Hope Diamond. She did not let it out of her sight as we set it up and lit the candles. She got the idea in her head that it was her birthday. My cousin was gracious enough to let her blow out the candles with him. Everyone cheered for her and she was on top of the world, and then she finally had her cake and ate it too.
When you first have a child, it’s nice to establish the customs and lifestyle of your new little family. But as the little one grows, it’s also fun to get out of your cocoon and show her that she has a bigger family, too. I’m so grateful that Haley has loving relatives on both sides. I wish we could spend more time with everyone, but with time and money constraints, it’s difficult. Which makes the times we do get to spend together that much more meaningful.