Family

 Hi all,

I've been thinking lately about the nature of friendships and family, and what is important about them to me.  I've noticed that the things I value most are the things that are reciprocal, at least to the degree that they can be.  I had family visit from Italy, and they have hosted me 3 times (once at 5, 22, and 30) in Italy, and this was the first time I was able to show them around the US.  My whole family came together and pulled out all the stops for this, and it was really nice to see everyone.  I'm left with a few lingering thoughts about it.

There are cousins who live just up the street that I haven't seen in months, and I miss the closeness of our family of years ago.  I know some of this is generational and natural (my grandmother passed, so the family went into the smaller groups).  I know I'm at least somewhat to blame for it though, it takes two sides to reach out and stay connected.  It is interesting to me that I found it easier to host the cousins from afar than the cousins from here, maybe because everything seems so new to them so I have more to share.  

My mom and dad used to do a monthly gathering with her brother and sister and their spouses/kids, and I think it's worth trying to do that sort of thing more.  Connections are too easy to lose, and too valuable, to leave to chance.  It takes effort, as a friend of mine recently reminded me, to maintain any sort of relationship.  I know my parents and extended family are happy that I have maintained our connection with our Italian cousins, but I guess I want to ensure that we do a better job of keeping track of our family relationships here.

Hope you are all having a great day, and appreciating the family and friends you have,

~Mark