Gotta Love ‘Em

When I was talking (okay more like gloating) the other day about our big Hawaii Adventure 2010, I mentioned we recently traveled “up north” – Minnesota and Wisconsin to be exact – to visit some of my family over Easter weekend.  

  

It was an interesting experience for me because, even though the hubs and I have lived together for nearly seven years, he only met my extended family on my dad’s side once.  In the third year.  At our wedding.  Suffice to say, they didn’t get a lot of quality time.  

So this visit was very  important to me.  Even more, it was scary.  I’ll admit I was worried that they wouldn’t like him, or he wouldn’t like them, or that seeing this “new” side of my life would somehow negatively distort his image of what makes me… me.  

But it actually was pretty nice.  

I got to see my old Minneapolis stomping grounds…  

  

My old, old house (before my family moved to Nebraska)…  

The window treatments are the same as my family left them 13 years ago...

 

and my old, old, old house.  

  

I saw my dad…  

  

My grandma…  

  

and my other grandma.  

  

The hubs was able to fix some much-needed things around her house.  And, I got her signed up on Facebook!  Hey, just rounding out my social network…  

  

My cousins and their families are so beautiful.  

  

I can’t believe how much has changed…  

  

  

And how much has stayed the same.  

  

You know what was weird?  

The hubs sleeping at my grandma’s house.  With me in the bed I used to share with my sister when we were little.  It was messin’ up my nostalgic mojo a bit…  

And I know you most likely don’t know any of these people, so if you’re still reading this, thank you.  I promise the next post will be about something useful.  

But I wanted to share that I learned that you can go home again.  

It’s just that most of it won’t look the way you remember.  It will look even better.  

So that’s my little introspective rant.  

Oh and I saw cows.  

  

And this.  

  

Some things never change…  

Are you close to your extended families?  Wish you could see them more often?  Wish you could see them less?  Feel free to share!