To the Zoo with Family

Dear John,

Saturday, after the Ren Fair, we went over to your Uncle Dave and Aunt Suzanne's house.

You enjoyed playing with Zoe's toys and the Russian nesting dolls that you and your sister always look for at their house.  But then you made an interesting discovery in the play room.  You came out talking about an alligator and how you needed the alligator.  No one knew what you were talking about until Uncle Jonathan followed you and in and called, "He's looking at this dinosaur thing and then saying he needs a ball."

You found the dinosaur (which I now remember you always thought was an alligator) that we had passed on to Zoe.  Of course you had to play with it.  Happily, Zoe is just young enough that watching you play was even more exciting than playing by herself.

On Sunday, we met up with your Grandma, my sister and her family, and many other Langs for a zoo adventure.

I had entirely too much fun with the abundance of Johns and Jons around at the zoo... you, your Uncle Jon and then John Lang.  Even the lion was named "Jonathan."  Wasn't it nice of everyone to indulge me in a "Jo(h)n" picture?

You and your cousins loved looking at the big animals... the giraffes and the elephants, going to the petting zoo, riding the carousel and having a tasty slushy treat.

 

 

One of my favorite parts was watching your Uncle Dave with Zoe.  I noticed him stop at the lion water fountain, park the stroller and take a picture.  I knew that he was remembering trips to the zoo when he was a boy and he took a drink from that same water fountain.  I know that because I feel the same way about the fountain.

It stirs something in me every time I see it and I love that it stirs the same feeling of nostalgia in my cousin.  I have been really struggling with how to define family, how to determine which friends get to have the distinction of being like family and how to order in all in my mind.  I know from the Nolens, who count half, step, adopted, foster, in-laws, out-laws, and everyone in between equally as "family" that it's a word with a broad meaning and has almost nothing to do with shared blood.

I think I finally have a working definition.  Family is the people with whom you build a lifetime of shared experiences.

That includes many of your blood relatives.  It may include many of our friends.  The real fact of the matter is that you won't know who you think of as family until you go back somewhere, like maybe the Houston zoo, and you see the special water fountain and you look over and the person you are with is smiling just like you.  And right now, I can tell you, that every one of your cousins, first, second, and once removed will remember that water fountain with you.  That's family.

Love,
Mom