Marriage and Family Reunions

This past weekend we went to a reunion of my dad's mom's side of the family.  This group has been getting together every other year or so since my grandma's parents died in 1998, and before that they met every year at my great-grandparents' for Christmas.  Now the families of my grandma and her three brothers take turns hosting.  We've been practically all over the Midwest in the last 13 years (the two previous reunions were a few miles from my parents' house!).

This year we met at my aunt and uncle's, and it was the first reunion where I felt like one of the adults.  Kinda.  I'm over 21 and married now, and the oldest of my generation of cousins (the youngest is just 8 months old!), but I'm also 8 years younger than the youngest of my parents' generation.  It's kind of a weird place to be in.

Then, of course, the biggest change for me was having my husband with me!  There were about 20 people he hadn't met yet, and I was SO excited to introduce him to my family.

We've been talking about this reunion for months, and I knew it was going to be really different this time.  The biggest thing I had to remember was to keep my husband as my top priority.  Yes, we were with my family and I don't see most of them often, and they have all known me since I was born (except for all the people who have recently married into the family!), but my husband knows me better than any of them.

He is the one I married and with whom I promised to spend the rest of my life.

So during the weekend, while I was flitting around talking to various relatives, I made sure to pay as much attention to Joshua as I could.  He hit it off with one of my dad's younger cousins and they spent some time visiting.  And then Joshua and I had several hours of alone time at the hotel one day, which we both really needed.

We both had a lot more fun over the weekend than we were expecting to.  The weather was much nicer than anyone had hoped, I got to cuddle all my little cousins (and second cousins), and we met for the first time the girlfriend of one of my dad's cousins, who endeared herself to us all right away.

And then we went home...and I realized how important it was for me to remember how important Joshua is, and make sure he knows how special he is to me.

Because at the end of the day (and the beginning!), he is the one who is always here.  We come home to each other, not any extended family (however much we love them!).  We are each other's family...and that's how it should be.

Linking up today:
The Alabaster Jar; lowercase letters; The Better Mom; Raising Arrows