Family Memories Carnival Coming April 28

I'm hosting the BLOG VILLAGE Quarterly Carnival focusing on FAMILY MEMORIES! It certainly seems like an appropriate topic for this blog.

So, how about sharing stories of your childhood, or maybe how you met your spouse. Does your family have special bonding rituals? Do you have some "strange" family members who help to make your family unique? How about sharing lessons you've learned from past generations. Are you into genealogy? Does your family story include adoption, blended families, or divorce? You name it - if it has to do with your family, past or present, we'd love for you to share.

You can click the banner to ENTER. Feel free to copy for your blog!

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DEADLINE April 25 midnight
Will be online here on April 28th.
RULES:

1. Blog MUST belong EITHER to a BLOG VILLAGE member OR link directly TO a BLOG VILLAGE Blog.

2. Only 1 entry per blog.

3. Only English language posts will be accepted.

4. No posts with titles, or with pictures, containing profanity, or of a sexual or suggestive nature, will be accepted.

5. Choose MEMBER or GUEST from the Categories, and put the required information in the REMARKS.

GUESTS of Villagers must submit the URL of the BLOG VILLAGE blog they are linked TO for your entry to be eligible for consideration.

VILLAGERS need to enter their MEMBER NUMBER in the REMARKS.

Stop Abuse Now!

Today is the day that bloggers all over the world are writing about Abuse. Thinking about all the different kinds of abuse there are is simply overwhelming.

Things were so much simpler when I was a little girl. Families consisted of a Mama and a Daddy, with Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles living nearby for many of us. People who got divorced were uncommon enough to be talked about in whispers. Not that our world was perfect in the good old days. We had our scary times, like learning how to duck under a school desk during an Atomic Attack drill. Our larger world was ruled by the Cold War, fear of polio, and the turmoil of the Civil Rights Movement.

But it was different at home. I was safe, and I knew it.

This post is for all those precious children who do not know what that feels like. They come home from school to hear their parents fighting over next to nothing. They cringe when a family member comes near, because they don't want to be touched or beaten again. We played Hide and Go Seek. Now, so many little children just hide and pray that no one finds them.

Let us do what needs to be done, so they can feel safe in their own homes. Let them be children.

This post is one of several hundred about Abuse of all kinds you can readhere.

Extended Family Thoughts

Our parents are all gone to be in Heaven now, enjoying a wonderful reunion with their spouses. This is a very comforting thought. It's also very comforting that we were able to be with all four in their last moments here on earth. All four were surrounded by their loved ones. So many people don't get to share those moments with their loved ones, so I feel very fortunate to have shared that important time with them.

Don't get me wrong, though. Even in the best of situations, watching a loved one take their last breath is not easy. I really don't know how people who don't have confidence in life after death can deal with it. All our family members have strong Christian beliefs, and we know we will be reunited with them in the future, through the grace of Jesus's death and resurrection. With Easter so close, and Daddy's death so recent, I'm reminded of this gift of grace many times every day.

I realize there are plenty of loving family members who have not been able to keep their loves ones at home, as we were able to do with three of our parents. I don't want to sound like I consider us "better" than those who decide the best decision for their parent's well being is to move them to a Nursing Home or Assisted Living facility. I'm just grateful that we could help them age in place.

In times past, it wasn't nearly as unusual for several generations to live in the same home. Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles typically were included as part of the nuclear family, providing ready help, advice, and extra loving relationships for the children. They didn't just move in when their own health was ruined, but lived together as strong members of the family unit for many years. I wonder if we will ever see a return to that sort of extended family dynamic in large numbers.

I had to travel all the way to Chicago to see my grandparents, but they were still a strong influence on me as a child. Did you, or do you, live in an extended family?