A HAPPY FAMILY DAY

We had every sort of weather this morning before we left - rain, wind, hail, snow and it was really cold, but later, thankfully, we had some sunshine.  

I felt quite emotional as we drove over to Barrow-in-Furness to meet cousins I first met about 35 years ago. My parents were divorced when I was very young so I never really knew much about my family in this part of the country, then we met up in a miraculous way.  We have kept in touch very the years and have visited each other but because of work and family commitments we haven't seen each other for about ten years so once again there was much catching up to do as well as sharing meals.

My cousin's wife makes delicious bread "buns" - something that always made us laugh because down south we call them bread "rolls" - but of course, there are many other things we say differently, so more cause for amusement.

The old photograph albums came out and when their two grown up children arrived with their own children, there was more laughter but both agreed that Mr. HCB and I hadn't changed at all over the years.

We pored over my Family History file and it was good to chat about relatives they knew but who were unknown to me and I was able to tell them stories about our ancestors about which they knew nothing - so quite a pooling of information.

Once more we had to reluctantly leave to drive the 50+ miles back to our home for the week. I think after all the emotion, tomorrow will be a day of pondering and colouring.  We came back to a roaring log fire - just what we needed so we won't be moving far this evening.

"You don't choose your family.
    They are God's gift to you."
Desmond Tutu

P.S.  Apologies for the funny faces - sometimes it just has to be done!