Family News

I talk a lot about the Boys in this space, largely because they are stuck with me even if I tell their secrets to the Internet. (Although during the Big Weekend someone asked my family if they censor what they talk about now that I'm oversharing, and IN UNISON they all said, "Oh, yeah." Hrmph.)

The Big Weekend reminded me, though, that I'm surrounded by a next generation that is stepping up to the plate in every way.

My two Husband-side nieces are a few years older than the Boys and their families are well underway. This weekend was the first time we've met many of their children, largely because over the course of about a year they went from having a cumulative four children to having a cumulative 10 children.

You read that right. These young couples offered their hearts and homes to kids who needed both, where most of us only offer our words. Niece the Older and her wonderful husband, who had four biological children, adopted a four-child sibling group and doubled their family size. Niece the Younger and her equally wonderful husband adopted two children, one from Ethiopia and one from Haiti. (You can read their stories on their own blogs, here and here.)

Truthfully, I was a little concerned about how well 10 children, ages 12 and under, would behave during a weekend dominated by Little Old Lady-ness. I shouldn't have worried: They were the best-behaved, most appealing children I've ever seen. And I'm including my own four in that assessment.

Then this morning Boy#1 called our attention to a note in our hometown paper. The son of my Much Older Sister has been named to the state human rights commission. He isn't even 30 yet, but this kid is an attorney and now has agreed to serve citizens of the state on this board that is pledged to end discrimination of all kinds.

This next generation may not be the Greatest Generation yet, but they're certainly making a run at the title.