My mother is one of 15 children and all but three of her siblings live in the Hamilton area. On average, each of them had 3-5 children. It means I have over 35 first cousins on this side of my family alone. Many of my cousins now have children of their own, and our family has gotten so large, we have our Christmas gatherings in banquet halls to accommodate us all. It is always QUITE the experience hanging with the Chevez crew. This is a pic of my Grandmother with all of her 15 children taken on Mother's Day in 2008.
I learned a lot from growing up in such a large family. This weekend I was reminded of how important it is to celebrate, to have fun, to let go of worries, and to enjoy the time you have with loved ones. It was pretty incredible to be in a room of 100 + people all there to celebrate the family created, loved, and molded by such an incredible woman.
In her younger years my Grandma was first to get up on the dance floor and show her moves. As she got older, her dancing diminished but her presence at family parties did not. I distinctly remember sitting beside her as a teen as she commented on people's ability to dance and celebrate. She acted as the dj telling us to switch songs or play more of certain types of music. Inevitably she would get up and start cooking as the rest of us danced into the wee hours of the morning. As she got older she would push through her tiredness to be able to observe us having fun encouraging dance-offs and hours of dancing and laughing together as a family. These family celebrations remain some of my most cherished childhood memories.
Now that she is older and living in a nursing home, she does not get to see the end of the celebrations but is still very much the reason we all get together so joyously. I send this song to my inspiring Grandmother today. Though she would disprove of the music, she would laugh wholeheartedly at the antics this song inspires on the dance floor among my family and I.
Happy birthday Grandma!
So lovely! Thanks for sharing!
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