Extended family...

I am lucky in the in-law department. My husband is the eldest of three; he has a sister and a brother. Both of his siblings have married. His sister, who is uncannily and exactly a female version of my husband, married a guy who is just the most upstanding chap you could hope to meet. He is honourable and decent, ever-so-slightly anal (ex-army), charming, hospitable, no-nonsense. The kind of guy you'd turn to in a crisis and he would sooo be there to sort it out.

My husband's brother (the youngest of them all) married N, who is just the sweetest, quirkiest girl I could have hoped to be related to. She is like the sister I never had. We still live in the same town and of course she is a few years younger than me and I feel like we have this connection. Sometimes it feels like I am trail-blazing ahead and she is there, a newer version of the bride I was, observing and learning from my life experiences. Noting my mistakes, helping me through them, and celebrating my triumphs. I look at my kids and think how lucky they are to have Aunties and Uncles like this, not to mention cousins who are slowly but surely joining this extended family unit.

In a way, it's strange that through your marriage and that of your husband or wife's siblings you become inextricably linked to these others who then knit into Christmases and birthdays and Sunday lunches and holidays, and weekends away. Not to mention trips to Las Vegas to witness wedding nuptuals...

I feel very lucky that in my extended family there is this contingent of friends, who I just also happen to be related to. The shared history we all have provides much entertainment, so when we had dinner, all six of us on Saturday night, I literally laughed until my sides ached... :-)

Lucky indeed...