First of all, as those with big families know all too well, its LOUD. There is always someone there talking, singing, eating, typing, being irksome...and various other REALLY wierd things...(For example I once had a relative who would toss hard objects at my head when I wasn't looking. And another that tried to eat my friend...) On the other hand however, you always have somebody to talk to, be it a sister, brother, grandma, aunt, uncle, niece, cousin, 2nd cousin, your great unlce's cousin's half sister's son...etc. There are always people around...This can be good or bad...depends on how you look at it.
Also, YOU KNOW ALOT OF PEOPLE. Half the people you know are family... If you have a large family you probably know alot of them from one place or another. If not you know somebody who knows sombody. Trust me, whether you know it or not if you have a large family, you've been effected by people you have NEVER met before and maybe never will...Agian this can work for or agianst you...Makes you wonder...just how many times has your life been altered by somebody you don't even know exists...
I don't know about your families, but mine only gets together for 2 reasons. Either A.Theres a wedding or B.Someone died. Its harsh, but the sad truth. Weddings aren't just filled with joy and happiness for the newly weds, but also (since you only see these people once in whos Knows how many days, months even years) with saying goodbye to you sickly relatives...Once agian, a sad truth...Sometimes in larger familiese you don't get a chance to say good-bye before they are gone forever and other times you meet a family member for the first time, just to go to their funneral the next month...Its all very sad but at funnerals my family gets to see each other, which doesn't happen often...So in a way its good...I believe this is why the "Family Reunion" was invented...Just some food for thought.
Stories. Thats the best part of having a large family. Telling the stories of things long past. Some funny, some confusing, some upsetting, and others that are really just an inside joke that know one else could possibly understand. They start like "Remember the time when..." or "What about that time..." and they are always,always worth listening to.If you have never listened to a family story, whether your family be big or small, please give it a try next time. Stories are a part of tradition and you may learn something about a close relative you didn't know before or even become closer to one you usually ignore.
In the end families are families. It dosen't really matter the size. Your family could be 100,000,000,000 or 2 people. Your family can even just be your friends. So long as the loves there, you've got yourself a family!
I hope I didn't write too much...All this has been floating around in my head lately...It just boggled itself out in this essay rant hybrid.
-Tsubasachro
