A Celtic Knot

Of Family Ties

It was my little brother’s birthday in early November and even as I write that line, I chuckle because it’s been a long time since he was smaller than I. His crib was in my room, so when I was eight, my job was to pat him if he woke in the night. I patted, he fretted; sometimes he went back to sleep; sometimes he didn’t and Mom rescued us, but the brother-sister bond remained close. I am his sister as well as his godmother and my son is his daughter’s godfather. For his fourth birthday, the only guests my daughter’s son wanted was his family, including first and second cousins, especially my brother’s college-age daughters, one of whom he wants to marry.

Big families are complicated and life is complicated, too, but when you boil it down to what matters, it’s pretty simple. Take the four-year-old’s advice: Choose to be with people you love, and celebrate the moment. Happy Thanksgiving.