family dynamics

families are so interesting and different. i mean, have you ever taken a step back and studied your family, or the families of those closer to you?

take me, for example.

for all intents and purposes, i have five parents. my mother, my father, my step-mother, and my maternal grandparents. my biological parents and my grandparents have worked together to raise me my whole life. when i was a teenager, my step-mother came into the picture. as uncommon as it is (and i get told how uncommon it is a lot), my parents are all very close. my mother and father divorced when i was a kid and, though it took them a while, they were somehow able to put aside their differences and become friends. my father has also maintained an extremely close relationship with my mothers parents. i can't count how many times he's stopped by their house on his lunch break to do something around the house for them that needed to be done. for a time, when we were really young and divorce was still this thing my sisters and i didn't understand, my dad still came camping with us. when my step-mother entered the picture, she and my mother made it their number one priority to get together and have a talk about how they would approach they're relationship. today, they're such close friends it's slightly funny (and it constantly unnerves my dad, which is even better). between the five of them, the tag-team parenting works like a well-oiled machine. my sisters and i never worry that things won't get done, or that we won't have someone to turn to in a time of need.

and just to throw it out there, i have six sisters. two of them (one older, one younger) are my biological sisters, and four of them are step sisters. they range from age 27 all the way down to age 6. i have a wonderful brother-in-law, whom i've known since i was 13, and a beautiful nephew and niece.

i also consider my mother's older sister, and her daughter, as members of my immediate family as well, since i've lived with them since i was a kid.

our family is loud and boisterous. we're always tripping or talking over the next person when we're at home. we're constantly in each other's business. and with a family full of women, the dynamic is hilarious. N. is in the process of learning the ins and outs of maneuvering a female-ruled environment from my grandfather. my nephew, the first boy in two generations, has become the prince of the family. and when someone needs something done, my mom, grandmother, step-mother and older sister never fail to work together to hold it down. we skype, we email, we call and we text. and it's impossible to keep a secret in a family like mine

but i realize that not all families are like mine, and i've recently been given a first hand view of another's family dynamics. it's an education to say the least.

i guess i just wrote this post because i'm feeling very lucky to have the family i have, for all of our flaws and extremities (which are undoubtedly legion). i never find myself complaining about them, or apologizing on their behalf to others. while we have our differences (again, it's a family full of women), there's never been a problem that couldn't be solved through laughing or yelling (haha).

so even though my family doesn't read this blog, let me just say: thanks.