2 brothers and 1 sister is what I have and they make up a big part of my life-yesterday and today.

I am the youngest in my family.
I have two brothers and one sister.

When in Maine this summer I made a specific effort to sit with my two brothers and one sister and just talk. When I say specific, I mean 2:00- on a Sunday - in the living room - no dogs, no kids, no significant others.

Just us.

We all made time to sit - in a living room - on an island - in Maine, one afternoon in July.

The topic of conversation rotated around life now and life in the future. We talked about where we see ourselves in the future in relation to one another

Have you ever had this kind of conversation with your siblings?? I highly recommend it. I am not saying it is easy, but like flossing or cleaning house, it is always worth the effort in the long run.
(PS-I am not a flosser or a house cleaner!)

As I told someone immediately after this family meeting, I felt like I had just made three new BFF's. The power of family is truly experiential and if we do not make intentional time for it, it is lost and missed.
At the same time, family relations can carry years of stereotyping, judgement, and assumptions.


My throat was dry all day prior to the meeting. I felt like I was entering an interview. I claim to love my family, but do they know me? Do I know them? What do they think of me?

The joy I got out of witnessing my siblings share, laugh, and listen to one another was surprising.
I often wonder if I got so much out of this meeting because I still hold onto the memories of being the youngest and begging my brothers to play with me- a game? inside or out?

 I just wanted to be heard and have company back then. I think I was actually quite a pain in their ass in my younger years. Of course I didn't ask for clarification of this - in our afternoon meeting - this past July. Again, proof that family relations exist on a lot of assumptions.

This meeting was an attempt to break through assumptions.
Like so many things in life, communication can break down barriers.

I think about my job and the challenges of working in a school. Most problems develop out of lack of communication- with parents, colleagues, principals and students. Heck, add the word "marriage" to the list, it all comes back to communication- it matters.


It is not the easy choice, but communication is a key to success. I used to always say relationships matter most, but....one cannot be in a relationship without good communication.

Thanks to my siblings for meeting on that day in July, on an island, in Maine.
Words can only partially touch upon what I got out of that meeting.

                                           It makes me excited to grow old with you all

And of course thanks to Mom and Dad for having the patience to get us to where we are today.

We all love you unconditionally!