Family

I remind myself quite often that I have wonderful children. This does not downgrade anyone else's progeny. It is simply a fact. Bill and I certainly had our trials and tribulations being parents, and we made mistakes; plenty of them. But our kids developed into unique, independent, creative, adventuresome, and loving adults.

I think the fact that Meg and Will know that regardless of where they live or what they do in life, we are here for them. They are and always will be number one in our book, and that is a very secure feeling for them, I hope. They have friends who have turned to our house as a safe haven, because we offer "normalcy" or stability or consistency or SOMETHING that just makes this old place comfortable. It's a hang-out, I guess. :-)

If you were to meet my extended family, you'd notice some common threads in our personalities. By and large we were raised in a rather Capra-esque situation (think "You Can't Take It with You") and as little money most of our parents and our grandmother had, it was always assumed that anyone was welcome at the table on Sundays and holidays, and if someone needed a temporary place to sleep, then so be it.

So, as I think about my own children and their adult lives, I feel so lucky to have such great kids. I wish they could know my own family better (although it might be a bit alarming to them to see my most annoying or embarrassing traits exhibited by so many of my cousins). And I wish my family could see how wonderful my kids are. They'll just have to take my word for it.