With the big times of the year approaching (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years). I begin to converse with my family in my head. I haven’t seen anyone since August. Sometimes through Facebook or Instagram, I catch updates of new haircuts and how much my cousins have grown.
I will be traveling home to 20+ relatives. I hope that I do not pass through my time away from my work and school in a sort of “Holi-daze.” I am certain that this is the most conscious I have ever been of the roles that I can and will not play as a cog within society.
This makes me curious as to the cogs that come before me. What do my uncles currently believe in? What songs do my parents play when they are sad? How is technology raising my nieces and nephews compared to my companions the VCR/DVD combo and CD Walkman?
Of course, most people have a sense of who their relatives are, at least, we know which ones to avoid to prevent discussion of particulars concerning classes and love life. As an adult, what I’ve never really done is engage in topical discussions with the individuals in my family.
In other words, I have been seeing the grown-ups of my family in a new light, illuminating a “refreshed” identity and a new type of relationship for me to develop with them. Chalk it up to my being naive, having not seen family in some time, or just being young—I am excited to get to know my family all over again.
Part of me will always wonder how we all manage to stay so close. Or how they have managed to live within such close proximity over the past forty years. I do not aim to elevate or distance myself. Although I did move across the country.
Being an adult is odd in that we move away from family and pop in and out when calendars and finances dictate.
What have all these people related to me amount to when they do not leave the nest? Simply that. A matrix of nests, of generations loving, teaching, encouraging, and nudging others towards flight.
As we find ourselves within the nest, or as we seek to make a nest, let us not forget our greatest strength is love. I love my family, and the communities I have been fortunate enough to share time with. I guess this is my way of showing love, showing holiday cheer. Here’s to hoping we make the most of our moments with loved ones this holiday season.