One quick comment about talking about kids accomplishments in the setting of a family reunion. I suspect that the daughters’ accomplishments as wives and mothers isn’t mentioned simply because it isn’t easily differentiated from others’ accomplishments as wives and mothers. It’s easy and interesting for parents to list their sons’ careers simply because they’re all different. If this was a big family consisting entirely of high-powered lawyers I suspect we wouldn’t spend much time talking about the mens’ careers. So mothers and wives “show off” their career by highlighting their children’s accomplishments, which they obviously helped bring about.

As an aside, Jane, I miss you a lot. I wish I could have been at the reunion, but my @#$%!! career, which is sucking from me the will to live, wouldn’t allow it. I’m glad you’re writing a blog because you were always one of my favorite first twenty cousins. I don’t even know the names or family affiliations of the rest of them.

I was touched that my dad made a point to recognize the mothers. I don’t want to be whiny and all “Hey, what about me?” But I confess that sometimes I feel that way. How fun it would be to be Sidney Bristow from Alias!

My own sweet mother didn’t graduate from college. She got married at 17 after graduating from HS early, and then she attended BYU for awhile before stopping to raise me. I was born when she was 18 (almost 19) years old. And she is smart and strong and talented and creative, and FABULOUS. And she puts her family first, always.

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Also, the family reunion was great. I’m impressed by my cousins, male and female. I wanted to talk about my cousin who has 5 (6?) small kids now, who ran a marathon between her 2nd and 3rd kids, who are 18 months apart in age. She’s amazing! And my french-horn-playing cousin with 3 kids under age 4.

I know we’re all doing what we should, and I know our kids deserve our attention, and that (as Kikibibi said) we are happier doing this than we would be if we pursued other things at this time, but sometimes I get cranky. Thanks for putting up with my crankiness on the blog! (and understanding it in the spirit it was meant).

Anyway Jane – Mormon or not – I admire you so greatly for raising your kids! My kids are now 12 and 16, and I have just reached a place in my head/heart where I’m cool with NOT having the high-powered, super cool, I’m-all-that career. At age 26, I said that in 10 years I’d be a director of a publicly-traded company, and by gum at 36 I was! And I was miserable, and I didn’t see my kids, and ahhh my poor husband – I cringe to think about what I must’ve been like! My daughter is now in 7th grade, the same grade my son was at the height of my craziness. She has some of the same teachers he had, and I don’t even remember meeting these people, let alone actually discuss my son’s progress with them! Oh how I wish I would have done things differently! I am getting back on track, mostly on track, now, and no one seems worse for wear, thank goodness. But Jane… don’t you change a thing just because some of those cousins are making other choices. YOU HAVE A HIGHER calling!! and you are achieving it. Keep on keeping on girl! And keep doing “the blog.” I love it! kk

p.s. Sounds like your dad is pretty dang proud of you too!

kikibibis last blog post..Athletic Supporters!

the mama bird diariess last blog post..post convention withdrawal

Erins last blog post..What’s wrong with this picture?

And I’ll only know about 10% of who these people are!

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