When I tell people at school that I had dinner with my mom’s side of the family once a week for most of my life, they usually assume that my mom has maybe one sister and a brother. What they don’t usually realize is that my mom is the oldest of seven siblings, and all of them live within 10 miles of my house. Most of them are married and have at least two children, and once a week, we all squeeze into one house and cook enough food to feed a small village. Here’s what it’s really like to be so close to your huge family.
1. Everyone is in each other’s business (low key) all the time
Your family knows when so and so has a new boyfriend, or if so and so got a speeding ticket. They know all the drama with your friends, they know that your brother got a new tattoo, and they know that you got a B in your science class. It's hard to keep any kind of secrets when everyone talks so much.
2. Your cousins are basically like younger siblings
Growing up in a close, huge family means lots of built in friends, but when you spend every day together for a large portion of your childhood, it’s more like built in siblings. They wear your clothes (sometimes without permission), they annoy you and distract you while you have to do homework, and, sometimes, you get stuck babysitting.
3. People are sometimes just in your house
There probably isn’t a day where one of your family members isn’t in your house at some point, either to pick something up or drop something off. Your mom makes a pot of soup and 3 of her siblings come over to claim leftovers. Your uncle needs your snowblower so he can clear his driveway, 2 of your aunt’s, and then yours. Some days, you walk into your house and your aunt is sitting there because the library is closed and she needed a quiet(er) place to write her paper.
4. ...And you’re sometimes in theirs
I know the code to get into 3 of my family member’s houses, so if I need something, I’ll usually call them and stop in, even if they aren’t home.
5. Your family knows the entire town
Your family has lived here forever, so your aunt went to high school with your fourth grade teacher, your mom has known your best friends mom since first grade, and you usually can’t go anywhere without being recognized as “so-and-so’s daughter/niece/cousin/sister.”
6. You're used to listening to at least 3 conversations at once
Because you can’t miss anything going on, you have the ability to tune in and out of conversations because everyone always talks at once.
7. You don’t know what’s yours anymore
Between hand me downs, clothing swaps, and just borrowing your cousin’s/aunt’s/sister’s clothes, you don’t even know what belongs to who. Someone bought a coffee pot 6 years ago that the family uses on special occasions, but no one can remember who paid for it. There’s a set of folding chairs your family uses at parties and everyone has a set amount they keep, but there are 4 extras and no one knows where they came from.
8. Your family has never once succeeded at sitting around a single dinner table
Honestly, it probably takes 4 or 5 tables to fit everyone.
9. It takes 3 tries for your aunt to call the right name
“Taylor, no, Sarah, I mean, Katie, come here!” There’s so many names, no one can keep them all straight.
10. You have to fight to get a seat to yourself
Your family never has enough seats to fit everyone, so you’ve had to share a chair with your cousins at least once or twice.
11. You probably don't remember the last time you were alone
Like I said before, there’s always someone in your house.
12. When you're at school, you miss at least 3 birthdays
It’s okay, though, because your cousin's facetime you during the parties, since you have a crippling FOMO pertaining to family events
13. Saying goodbye to everyone at a family dinner takes at least an hour
Everyone talks to each other for hours at a time, and then you have to make the rounds to say goodbye to approximately 45 people. It’s even worse when your mom’s second cousins show up.
14. You'll probably have one of the biggest bridal parties in history
Between cousins, friends, and siblings, there is no way you can cut it down to any less than 9 bridesmaids.
15. But there’s a lot of love to go around
Having a big family means that there is so much love and support surrounding you, you hardly even know what to do with it.
My family is big, and loud, and chaotic in all meanings of the word, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything.