Shrinking Nest, Growing Tree

The highlight of our weekend was being part of a surprise party for two of my siblings who are going away to college in a few weeks. My sister-in-law did a great job planning this party, complete with theme games to play.

One game we were all given a list. (When I say "we were all" you have to understand there are ten children in our family, plus in-laws, cousins, nieces, nephews, plus 85- year old grandma and cousin Kay.) Ok, back to the list. We were given a list of Rachel and Philip questions, such as "If you could be a celebrity for one day, who would it be?", or "What is your greatest pet peeve?", that sort of thing.

The game was extremely difficult because Rachel and Philip are very quirky, both of them. In fact my whole family really is pretty quirky. As you can imagine, there were some really funny guesses. Like cousin Kay for example, "What is Rachel's Favorite Movie?" Kay's answer; "Wasn't it Napoleon Bonapart?" HAHAHA!! You mean "Dynamite", Kay?

And Phil's choice of a celebrity to be for a day? Barak Obama - because he could probably do enough silly things in one day to derail the campaign. Rachel would be a snap turtle for a day. Phil's pet peeve, "10-13 year old boys". He insisted this had nothing to do with Landon or Preston, who happen to be 11 and 12.

At the end of the game most of us had at least one correct answer. I knew that Rachel's favorite movie was "The Thin Man" since we'd watched it together after randomly picking it off the shelf at the video store, desperate for some entertainment on a lame Friday night. I was really funny! I thought Phil's pet peeve would be "Poo in the pool" since he always has funny stories from his summer job, maintaining pools at condominium communities. I did know his favorite instrument was violin.

After the day was over, I was reminiscing the old days when Holly, Rachel and I shared one teeny bedroom with a weird assortment of bunk/loft beds. Lucky for Holly and Rachel, they wore nearly the same size clothes as me, and didn't need to bother ever buying their own. Now Holly and I are married with children of our own, and Rachel is preparing to continue her musical studies at a university. Philip was a stubborn, snotty teenage boy, who ate like a 300 hundred pound gorilla, but now he's a responsible young man who performs violin like a masterpiece, AND still eats like a 300 lb. gorilla, but manages to keep a slim physique.

I'm so proud of the fine the adults they have become and know the world is a better place because of both of them. I see my other siblings who are married to great people, and now my nieces and nephews, the cycle will continue, the next generation. My parents have released seven of us into the world; now they have just three teenage boys left at home. What will we all be doing twenty years from now?

The nest is shrinking, but the family tree is expanding, and that's exactly the way it should be!