Family

Saint Croix is home and one of my great loves. It is however 1838 miles from my hometown and family in Kentucky. With the holiday season holding such wonderful memories from my childhood, I often fall a little this time of year. Don't get me wrong, drinking a mojito while Kevin builds a 'Sandman' on the beach is an experience I am very fond of, but childhood memories of thawing out in front of the fireplace, next to the wet snowsuit that hit the ski slopes all day with me, is a special kind of memory. 

So when I was fortunate enough to spend the start of the holiday season with my family, I was of a mind to indulge in reminiscence. Sat there in the kitchen with my nephews, flipping through old photo albums that my mother had crafted and retelling old stories. As we walk the halls of my parent's and sister's houses, covered with portraits of our family, I was struck by how fortunate we are to be able to pass on our family legacy in such a meaningful way. Though I was never able to know him, when I look at portraits of my great-grandfather I'm reminded of all of the brave, kind and wonderful things he accomplished in his life and there is a sense of all-encompassing kinship that feels like a warm hug from a sweet angel. 

Witnessing the generations of my family unfold gets more special every year. When I was a child I felt an affinity for pictures of my grandparents, aunts & uncles as children... wondering if they too wanted a puppy more than ANYTHING. As a young adult, I gravitated to my family as they experienced young adulthood - pictures of my mother before her first date or my grandfather as he preparing for military deployment. Revisiting the progression of my family legacy year after year I have more insight as to what the lives of my great-great-grandparents might have been like and the connection only grows deeper.