Thanks for...family

I know I earlier posted about being thankful for the time my mom, sister and I had together this summer. Tonight, I'm thankful for family in general. I know it sounds generic and "politically correct" but i am thankful for my family.

Both sets of grandparents grew up with large familes, particularily on my mom's side (14 kids on the one side and there is one of those great uncles still alive). My grandparents subsequently each had small families...My dad has a sister and my mom has a sister. In the small town where I grew up, grandma and grandpa Kahl were the equivalent of a city block away through the trees or down the country road. I can still vividly remember the nights Grandpa lugged me through the trees to take me back home after I got scared spending the night at their place. But by the time I was in junior high, if Grandma and Grandpa Kahl were traveling I was in the back seat from mid-May through the end of August.

My mom's dad passed away a month before I was born. I don't know much about him other than pictures and stories. But my Grandma Rose was a big part of my childhood inspite of the four hour drive to her house in the country. If you remember the big red barn picture from earlier this year, that was her place. She took care of it by herself. She always had a crystal dish filled with those Neopolitan nougat candies and a tin of dried fruit in the refrigerator. If you ask my dad what he remembers about Grandma Rose is her homemade donuts. We would travel to see her at least once a month when we were little. She passed away when I was about 8 years old, I still have her rosary and use it often.

As far as my two aunts...Dad's sister lived on the way to Grandma Rose's house, she is also how my mom and dad ended up together. She and my mom were both nurses at the same hospital. She and her first husband spoiled me rotten. Even though they separated when I was pretty little, 20 years later I still keep in touch with "Uncle" Lee. My aunt now lives in northern Minnesota and we both go back to the farm whenever we can.

My mom's sister is more of a mystery. She left SD as soon as she could and I don't remember her much, nor have much interaction with her. However, her daughter and I are 13 yrs, 364 days apart in age and she use to come to the farm every summer. We aren't as close now as we once were but I'm still grateful for my small family.

My mom, dad, and sister still live in the farm house where I mostly grew up. Initially, dad's parents lived in the farm house but all farmers "retire", which simply means by a house in town and drive out to the farm everyday. When that happened, we got rid of the trailer house and moved into the big farm house. Grandma and Grandpa's house in town was in the perfect location...two blockets from the community center/gym, two blocks from the school, and one block from the Catholic church. We always had a place to go as kids.

I only have my Grandma Kahl left and this Tuesday she is having a mastectomy because of a malignant breast tumor too large to remove with just a resection. As most of you know, my mom has ovarian cancer and time is precious there. So even though it's a bit cliche', I'm thankful for my little family.