Generations

I've been very quiet on this blog this summer. Perhaps that is because it's been a summer not as filled with spectacular events as others. Our travels as a family were more modest. The pace my kids and I maintained at home was more relaxed. There is a little bit of regret that Sherry and I didn't lead the kids on some sort of big far-reaching vacation this summer. Then again, maybe it was good to have a summer where we didn't force a big trip: it might have sharpened our appetite for such adventures.

It was a summer, though, that saw us focus more on family, which is a very good thing. Our longest time away from the house was a week we spent at the New Jersey shore, something we had never done before. There were fourteen of us living for a week in Cape May. Though I can't point to any one thing we did that was necessarily postcard worthy, I can point to a week that permitted me a great deal of time with family members I don't see as often as I'd like. It was priceless time for my kids to better know their cousins. It was priceless time for their uncles and aunts to better know them.

My final adventure of the summer took me to McConnellsburg where I had the chance to visit my grandmother. Sam and Caroline came along. We also traveled with Mom, Kendra, and Miriam, the newest addition to the family. This was the first time Gram got to meet Miriam, and I'm glad I was there for that.

Gram and Miriam.

Caroline and Miriam. 

I can't help but think of the laughs we'll share someday when we see photos of one cousin holding another, reminiscing when the one was little enough for that.

While visiting, I had the chance to leaf through some photographs, and I encountered this one I don't remember seeing before of my grandfather. Pap died in March of 1990. This photo was likely taken around 1985. It captures his appearance very closely to how I remember him. There's no shortage of photos of Pap, but most come from his younger years. I'm glad to get this image of him and how he looked when I knew him.

Picture of Pap taken near 1985 at the plant he worked in Lock Haven. 

Only one problem with this photograph: he's not smiling. In nearly every other picture he's grinning, or laughing, or trying to suppress a laugh. This is one of the few I've ever seen with a serious expression.

This summer has been a helpful one for me in gaining the perspective of a family that has gotten this numerous. Eleven summers ago, there was one child, Sam, four happy grandparents, and a small but loving group of excited uncles and aunts. A proud great grandmother, too. Now, added to that number, is a sister, ten (!) cousins, an uncle, and a couple of aunts.