Getting to Know You -- Again

NEW YORK, NY – Feb. 28, 2010 – If you live near your siblings and see them all the time then this is no big deal.

I’m getting re-acquainted with my sister! Oh we’ve chatted amiably on the phone over the years. Or met at funerals. But living in the same house with her and her husband is a rich treat. Since she and I are only four years apart, we share memories of people and things that no living person shares. Not anymore, anyway. Relatives, places we lived, Pepsi Colas we enjoyed with the grandmother we both liked.

“I never cared for that grandmother.”

“Oh you didn’t either? I thought it was just me!”

But the connection goes way deeper than words. Maybe even something spiritual. Not sure exactly what it is. But it’s something that many of us Americans have cut out of our lives with the advent of interstate highways and long-distance relationships and family members living across the country from each other. There’s definitely another layer of familiarity when you’re living in the same house, breathing the same air.

I think about the families 100 years ago. Most of them lived in the same town their entire lives. Families stayed near each other, for good or ill. They helped out when the kids were sick. Or someone got laid off from work.

And it’s also fun to see the family resemblances in the children and grandchildren. You’ll see shape of the eyes that look familiar. Or a gesture.

Yeah, family can be extremely rewarding.

Copyright 2010 James C. Lewis