Family!

As I was reading the "Family Secrets" article, all I could think about was the relationship I had with my closest family, my siblings. There are four of us, with the oldest three being 4 years apart. My sister and I are Irish twins- we are only 18 months apart, and we are closer than life itself, and our younger brother, only 3 years younger, has been growing closer and closer to us as time goes on. Our youngest sister, however, is the oddball. She is 8 years younger and lives a completely different life from the one we had growing up. Let me make this clear- this is not something I deem as bad, but shows a difference between my parents being young and in college, like when they had me, and now them being established and more adult-like with the youngest. 

I think that familial secrets, specifically the gaps in the photos, can be related to my own life, connecting to the time when the photos went from the three of us to the four of us. My youngest sister was born on my first day of school and, thankfully, my grandparents had taken us for the weekend and left my parents alone to do their own thing (prep for baby #4). All of our back-to-school photos, school shopping photos, and any after-school photos were taken by or with my grandparents. To explain, I am lucky enough to have young grandparents (my grandma just turned 70 and my grandpa turned 69), so growing up, they had the energy and wherewithal to help with us, as they were looking for reasons to be involved in our lives, and my parents were very busy.  Looking at the photos from that time (of which I can not currently find), the photos are of my siblings, my grandparents, and me.  Looking from the outside, you wouldn't know any different, as my parents were not in the photos as much as my grandparents were, as they were becoming established in their careers. We spent a lot of time with my sweet grandparents. The banner photo was taken by my Grandma on Saint Patrick's Day, one where my dad had been called into work early and my mom had an early morning meeting.   

If any of this makes sense, I am not sure, but in summary, a lot of my childhood was spent with my grandparents because my parents were young and doing their best! This is not a bad thing, in fact, it is something that I genuinely appreciated, as now that my parents are older, they have more time for my siblings and I, and know that they would not have this opportunity if they had not put the work in when we were younger. 

I love my parents AND my grandparents very much! They are the reason I am the way that I am! Look at them all (parents in full family photos and grandparents in the solo shots) ! Are you kidding me? Theyre so sweet.