#RedPointStairs

I don't post on here nearly enough. I know that. I also don't take the time to think about things that mean the most to me nearly enough, either.

This weekend, though, got me thinking!

I grew up in a large extended family; my mother comes from a family of 12 and each of her siblings has many children. Many of my fondest (and craziest) memories are from the gathering times at that old house on Red Point Road -- their old homestead. We would gather... siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins. Although all of the cousins (grandchildren) are kind of pre-arranged into these little aged groups, there was a crew of us that would regularly gather on the stairs leading "upstairs"... maybe as a kind of refuge from the adults, or the older cousins... maybe as a refuge from siblings.... I'm not too sure. Nonetheless, we would gather there and chat and gossip, dance and sing, during these epic visits at Grammie's house. (Hence, the hashtag a bunch of us use on twitter to communicate en masse to one another.)

Low and behold, we've all grown up; each of us successful in our own right. A funny thing happens as you grow older though... those little aged dividing lines seemingly blend into one another. Suddenly, it matters not if you're 25 and a mom or 50 and a very successful single-mom. It matters not if you've got 1 or 2 or suddenly 3 kids of your own now. You're simply a mom. And so the conversations to be had on those stairs changes... it evolves...

This weekend I witnessed something I had always hoped I would see, but yet it was something that warmed my inner heart and soul and still brings a pensive smile to my face. As we all gathered again for a family function en masse (My god there's a lot of us!), those motherly lines were more apparent as we were able to sit back... enjoy a cup of tea or coffee... (or a drink)... like our mothers did before us... as our children played together.

Our children played together in the same confident, comfortable, encompassing way that we all played for years... us cousins. It was so refreshing to see the "older cousins" (all of 9 & 10 years old) taking the younger ones (1,2,4 years old) under their wings... guiding them along, keeping them safe, showing them how to climb stairs, or simply giving a very animated high five (or twenty). There were few worries as to where the kids were... that internal, knowing comfort was simply there.

As I thought back to those moments this weekend, and think ahead to our big family reunion coming up this summer, I kind of chuckled -- What a great experience it is going to be for them... for us... The cousins... gathered together... as we once were before...

And even better is the promise of the future... that promise of knowing that in our genes... in their genes... there's that internal goodness that assures this mom that things will be all right...