Traveling with kids

My two sons (hey, one more son and we'll have a TV show title!) run the show when we're on vacation. Sugar cereals, late nights, running amok with cousins and grandparents, it's all part of the bargain. They become the center of attention, and that's a position they clearly enjoy. Terry and I wait patiently to the side, enjoying family and unusual sights, biding our time until it's time to make the trek back home.

When every trip to exotic locales (this time it was Albuquerque) comes to an end, we ask each other what we learned from the sojourn. For me this time around, it was a greater appreciation for my wife's family. I have four cousins; Terry has cousins numbering into the hundreds. Keeping names and faces straight, even after a decade and a half, is still a challenge for me. The generation who threaded their way through my legs at the first gatherings are now grown and shepherding children of their own.

Cousins Tony and Lisa have grandkids, and a son who is bound for Afghanistan. Aunt Louie still makes tamales, teetering on a footstool to reach a pot on the stove. A stove in the kitchen of the house her father built more than 80 years ago. Albert kids me about going camping; he's the outdoor Dad I dream of being. My father-in-law takes it all in from a corner chair, the eldest of a dozen children, with his 80th year right around the corner. Big Paul speaks a mix of clipped Spanish, and English for me. Little Paul will be retiring in a few months and owns 8 (9?) cars.

We are all richer for the culture and experience of the ones we love. In a small family, perhaps one man is a Dad. In a vast family, all the men are fathers to all the children. Uncles intertwine with Dads, grandfathers with cousins and nephews. The tie that binds one generation to the next is love, and the desire to pass down lessons and values learned.