Family Debates

(Click to enlarge pictures)
It was a great weekend! I got to see most of my family, as well as my grandparents. It is so wonderful that nieces and nephews can get to know their grandparents and great grandparents. I remember meeting one or two of my great grandparents once, but living out in the Midwest and them in the West didn't make for too many interactions.

I don't count family gathers as vacation time now. It is a reunion, not a break.

Ours is a family of many opinions which can bring out the good, the bad and the ugly. Either way, we typically keep our discussions separate from our relationships though they do at times collide.

I wasn't part of this particular debate/ discussion, but did come out of the deck to at least catch a picture. Through the hand motions you can tell that a few people are expressing their opinions at once. My Dad has somehow decided to stand to make his point, or was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

My grandmother appears to be in ear shot, but probably can't hear any of it. Maybe she turned the hearing aids off for this one or is talking to my Mom about the green beans in that pot.

Either way, the debates will continue at these family gatherings. Half the adults aren't present, but it appears that no one remembers that there are 13 nieces and nephews that aren't present in the picture (ok, maybe that one on my brother's lap). Who knows what kind of trouble they were up to, but they probably know by now that a healthy family debate means they've got some time to perform some uninterrupted mischief.

Anyway, good weekend, but I've had to sleep half the day today to prepare to go back to work tomorrow.

Ugh! I'll take the family debates over the office anyday. Well, except for when I need a real vacation.