Everyone has a family. Some big, some small. It doesn’t matter the size, really, because all families are important. If you're one of the luckiest people in the world, though, you come from a really, and I mean really, big family. All families have their perks and their downfalls, but if you come from a family as large as mine, there are a few things that you will most definitely be able to relate to.
1. Growing up, you always had someone to play with.
This is especially true if you lived in the same neighborhood as all of your aunts, uncles and cousins. I had someone to play with almost 24/7 if I wanted. All I had to do was walk out my front door, yell across the road and someone always answered.
2. You always had someone older picking on you, as well as someone younger for you to pick on.
Having a huge family means there are probably several generations of cousins. More than likely, it also means your cousins are all spread out in age. For example, my oldest first cousin has three kids of her own, and my youngest second cousin is only a little over a year old. I have a cousin just about every age in between, too. Growing up, I always had older guy cousins calling me a brat and roughing me up. Then when I got older, I had younger cousins that I still give a hard time. It’s all in good fun, but it's a never-ending cycle of pestering that I personally hope continues for at least several more generations.
3. When one aunt says she’s cooking hot dogs, and everyone comes over and eats her out of house and home.
You can’t have a cookout and not expect every single person in your family to come over when you're part of big family. Sometimes you don’t even have to tell people you’re cooking hot dogs. All you have to do is fire up the grill and within the hour, a few stray cousins will show up in your backyard, taking hot dogs as soon as you set them on the plate (Sorry, Aunt Diane and Uncle Shannon).
4. Holidays are always a big event.
It doesn’t matter what holiday it is, your family always tries to get together and celebrate it with lots of food and board games. It’s always really loud and there are usually children running around everywhere tackling each other, but you wouldn’t trade it for the world. The food is always amazing, because the recipes have been in your family for years, and you know you're always going to laugh your hardest around that dinner table.
5. Family reunion week is the best week of your year.
Yes, your family reunion kind of lasts a whole week because all of your extended family comes in and camps the whole week before the actual reunion. You’re used to showering in a bathhouse that week and seeing literally all of your cousins on your walk to go pee. You actually know what campsite they're going to set up in every year, and you could ride your bike there blindfolded. Every year, you find yourself showing all of the younger cousins all the cool secrets about the camp and discovering new places, even after you’ve been coming there for years. On the day of the actual reunion you all get together, eat great food, share stories and play a ton of games. It’s a tradition you never want to see go away. You have aunts and uncles and cousins that come from all over the United States, and you realize that you're so lucky to be a part of something that doesn’t give up and keeps going, even when you all argue over trivial things.
6. You always have a support system.
No matter how far apart you and your cousins get, you know they'll always have your back and be supporting you. They will fight your battles with you and go on spontaneous trips when you need them. They will threaten to beat up any ex that hurt you and make you laugh when all you want to do is cry. When you're part of a big family, you have an endless supply of soldiers fighting with you. So when people say, “You and what army?” all you have to do is pull up a picture of your family on your phone.
You may fight with your family from time to time. They may get on your last nerve and make you want to push them off the trampoline you all used to play on in your backyard, but you know that you wouldn’t trade them for the world. You will all go your separate ways and you will start your own families, adding to the numbers. You may actually feel sad when you all start moving out of the neighborhood you all grew up in, but you know that you'll always find your way back. You'll always come back and sit in one of your backyards, eating hot dogs and hamburgers straight off the grill and laugh until your stomach hurts.
