Not so much
Aug. 27th, 2007 08:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
randy_byersSo there was nary a peep about my new reverend status from the assembled relatives. Mom thought they probably weren't sure what it all meant. One of her fundamentalist sisters apparently asked if I had performed the wedding and then wanted to know what I'd done to qualify. "I just told her you registered for it," Mom said. "I wasn't going to tell her that you signed up with a fake church. Let her wonder."
It was a smaller group this year than the previous ones I've been to. Three of my mom's five siblings were there, but of the next generation there was only my cousin D, aside from my sister, brother, and me. D's two daughters and son were there from the next generation, along with my niece and one other cousin's daughter. The fourth generation was represented by four infants (D's grandchildren) aged three months to three years, who made chaos abatement more of a challenge than usual.
D's bankruptcy and loss of his farm was the source of much discussion and underlying anxiety, as were the various ailments and mortal thoughts of the elder generation. I found out that my mom's the only one of her siblings not on anti-depressants and that many in my generation are on them as well. Depression seems to run in the family. Diabetes, too, as I believe my aunt A. is the only one of Mom's sibs who hasn't developed it yet.
My sister is leaving for China again tomorrow to teach ESL for ten months, in a different province than she ended up in last time (although the same that she started out in). While the others were golfing, we went to Wal-Mart to pick up a webcam for her laptop, so she can try to videoconference with her daughter while she's away and maybe with the rest of us at Thanksgiving. Not sure if that makes the world feel smaller or larger. I'm proud of my sister's ventures into the wide world, but I'll miss her at the next few family gatherings.
It was a smaller group this year than the previous ones I've been to. Three of my mom's five siblings were there, but of the next generation there was only my cousin D, aside from my sister, brother, and me. D's two daughters and son were there from the next generation, along with my niece and one other cousin's daughter. The fourth generation was represented by four infants (D's grandchildren) aged three months to three years, who made chaos abatement more of a challenge than usual.
D's bankruptcy and loss of his farm was the source of much discussion and underlying anxiety, as were the various ailments and mortal thoughts of the elder generation. I found out that my mom's the only one of her siblings not on anti-depressants and that many in my generation are on them as well. Depression seems to run in the family. Diabetes, too, as I believe my aunt A. is the only one of Mom's sibs who hasn't developed it yet.
My sister is leaving for China again tomorrow to teach ESL for ten months, in a different province than she ended up in last time (although the same that she started out in). While the others were golfing, we went to Wal-Mart to pick up a webcam for her laptop, so she can try to videoconference with her daughter while she's away and maybe with the rest of us at Thanksgiving. Not sure if that makes the world feel smaller or larger. I'm proud of my sister's ventures into the wide world, but I'll miss her at the next few family gatherings.
