My family is a lot like other families, we have our own dramas, our losses, our gains, we come from generations before us who tried to give us a better life. I love my family and they probably really don't know how much.
They have taught me what it means to be there in the most exciting hours of life and the most devastating trials life can bring. They have taught me what hard work and determination can taste like. They remind me that I belong and that there are other people who look, act, and think like me.
What brings these thoughts up you ask? Getting the chance to spend time with ALL of them in one place.
Every autumn season my Grandpa has a wine harvest for his small vineyard on the property. He has been doing this for as long as I can remember. I remember it being him and my Grandma setting up for just a small group of family members, to it growing into a party of a couple hundred family and friends, to now being hosted by my Grandpa and his new wife Marie, and again being a small intimate group of these now two mixed families. Through the years it has brought people together to celebrate the changing of the seasons, catching up on years lost, remembering those who are gone, and welcoming those who have entered this crazy clan.
The grapes I have always thought, bring people together. My Grandpa is one of ten siblings, so this event always gave family the chance to see each other once a year. To meet cousins I had no idea I had. To hear stories about my family that I would never have known, if it not for my crazy wonderful Great Uncle Tony. To be reminded that I am very much like the Grandmother I didn't really get the chance to know, but so desperately wanted to. Maybe autumn is my favorite season, because I connect this grape harvest to it. It reminds me that no matter where I am in the world, I am connected to people, I have a history and a future thanks to these people.
Family...even though many of you don't even know I have a blog :) I love you very much, thank you for contributing to making me who I am. Challenging me to be better in every way. I wish autumn came more than once a year...
They have taught me what it means to be there in the most exciting hours of life and the most devastating trials life can bring. They have taught me what hard work and determination can taste like. They remind me that I belong and that there are other people who look, act, and think like me.
What brings these thoughts up you ask? Getting the chance to spend time with ALL of them in one place.
Every autumn season my Grandpa has a wine harvest for his small vineyard on the property. He has been doing this for as long as I can remember. I remember it being him and my Grandma setting up for just a small group of family members, to it growing into a party of a couple hundred family and friends, to now being hosted by my Grandpa and his new wife Marie, and again being a small intimate group of these now two mixed families. Through the years it has brought people together to celebrate the changing of the seasons, catching up on years lost, remembering those who are gone, and welcoming those who have entered this crazy clan.
The grapes I have always thought, bring people together. My Grandpa is one of ten siblings, so this event always gave family the chance to see each other once a year. To meet cousins I had no idea I had. To hear stories about my family that I would never have known, if it not for my crazy wonderful Great Uncle Tony. To be reminded that I am very much like the Grandmother I didn't really get the chance to know, but so desperately wanted to. Maybe autumn is my favorite season, because I connect this grape harvest to it. It reminds me that no matter where I am in the world, I am connected to people, I have a history and a future thanks to these people.
Family...even though many of you don't even know I have a blog :) I love you very much, thank you for contributing to making me who I am. Challenging me to be better in every way. I wish autumn came more than once a year...
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