Generations

I've been thinking about a comment left by Red, from Hiawatha House about the generations being strung out when there are many siblings in a family.  My family is a great example of that. 

On my mother's side, my grandmother was the oldest child of the 10 children in her family and my mother was her oldest child.  I also was the oldest of my family and there were 12 of us.  My father, on other hand was the third youngest of the 14 children in his family.  So that made my father a year older than my maternal grandmother's youngest brother and my maternal great-grandmother much the same age as my paternal grandmother.  I had second cousins on once side who were my age and younger and cousins on the other who were much older. 

Think that is confusing?  It doesn't stop there.  My first son is 6 days older than my youngest sister, his aunt.

I hear of families that fall out and give thanks that has never happened with any of my siblings.  You learn to bite your tongue at a young age when you are raised with a strict disciplinarian father.  And it doesn't do you any harm.  Sure, there is a sister-in-law I wouldn't mind swapping but the brother is happy and that's more important than my hackles.  But I also have sisters-in-law who I adore and hold close to my heart.

I'm so looking forward to my upcoming holiday in the UK and Europe and spending time with my brother, Peter and one of those sisters-in-law that I cherish, Pommie Jude.  See, there are so many of us names are bound to double up sooner or later.  So the two Judy sisters-in-law are Aussie Jude and Pommie Jude.  And I love them both.

This is five years old now but is still one of my favourite different generations family photos.  My youngest brother's daughter, Merrin is holding my niece's little girl, Chloe.  I had to think about that for a minute.