My five year old niece looked up at me and babbled out a request in German. Unlike her older two siblings, she didn’t automatically switch to English when she walked in my house. Of course the last time she was hear was a third of her life ago. That’s a long time for a little child. I’m just happy that she still remembers me. I expect she’ll start using English very quickly, she already knows it just like her siblings. It is fun to have all of them here. It is even more fun the way that they just slide right in with my kids because there are good matches for age and interests.
My children are blessed with an abundance of cousins. This is not a surprise since I have six siblings and Howard has three. Howard’s siblings have all settled within twenty miles of each other, so we get the clan together about once per month. I’ve discovered that gathering for three hours once per month is far less stressful than gathering for a weekend once per year. My kids and their Tayler cousins have ongoing games and relationships. We used to see the cousins on my side of the family more often, but people moved around and shifted life phases. Three of my siblings have settled up in Idaho, so we need to trek there so that my oldest kids can visit their same-age cousins. But my sister’s family has just moved into my town for the next three months. They’re setting up a house that they can stay in when they visit from Germany. This means that my kids will get to spend time with their German cousins far more regularly than they ever have before, and I’m glad for it.
Thanksgiving weekend is a great time to hang out with family. It has far less pressure of expectation than the Christmas holidays, which helps keep the weekend relaxing. Tomorrow I need to bring out the holiday decorations and we’ll be pulled right into Christmas. Monday has lots of work waiting for me, but today I can listen to my children and the accent inflected voices of my nieces and nephew. It is a good sort of evening to have.