Roots & Branches: The Village Behind the Creative

I often don't realize that my upbringing is somewhat an anomaly until I casually mention something about my family to someone else. For instance, I mentioned to a coworker that I was overdue for a visit with my grandma. I went on for a bit about our weekly calls and eventually that I hadn't seen her in a couple of weeks. She seemed surprised by my complaint. She then revealed that she only saw her grandparents once, maybe twice a year. Another coworker was equally shocked when I gave a rundown of my holiday plans one year - morning at the in-laws, afternoon at my grandma's, and ending the day at my mom's.  That doesn't even include the pregame weeks before at my cousin's or aunt's or uncle's.  Exhausting? A little, but it doesn't seem like a legit holiday without the travel shuffle!

I thought that it was because they were from another region. The South is its own world already, but Louisiana is in its own dimension! I soon found that the closeness was not as common in Louisiana as I thought. There have been lifelong Louisianians that I've spoken to who have very little interaction with their extended family. It was definitely foreign to me. 

For me, I experienced almost weekly seafood boils, barbecues, and fish fries. Even a child's birthday, especially mine, was a major production. Every holiday, I could expect to see aunts, uncles, cousins, and even friends who have been adopted in. It was a given that my good cousins were visiting for the summer! Funerals? They were there. Hurricanes? We hunkered down together. Graduations? Weddings? Births? First Communion? Every milestone, we were celebrating without a doubt. The coolest thing for me was that maternal nor paternal mattered. I had both sides there! DNA didn't have to link them. We were family. Period.

It almost seemed as though that was fading after my great-grandmothers passed away, but my cousins refused to allow a Soul Food situation to creep in. My Nanny (godmother/cousin) and aunts coordinated a summer bash for Norman and Olga's crew and the annual reindeer games followed in the winter. That's in addition to the many other celebrations throughout the year. My dad's family never missed a beat - Mother's Day luncheons, Father's Day BBQ, annual summer trip, and alternating hosting holidays. It's like a well-oiled machine at this point! It's not as frequent as it was when I was a kid, but it's a lot more face-to-face time than some people get, so I'll take it.

I love this for me, but most importantly, I love this for my children. They get a taste of what my childhood was like. Times have definitely changed. We don't see each other every weekend. It's harder for families to travel. Everything is so expensive. Taking PTO is risking livelihoods. It's a shame that there isn't more emphasis on family time. Nonetheless, I will make the most of it and cherish every minute we get together. If I learned anything from my great-grandmothers, it was just that. xoxo