The Apple Doesn't Fall Too Far From the Tree

From Seattle, WA, 2:00pm

My family is the most important thing to me. They are my top priority. There are a lot of us and we are loud and completely in each other's lives but I wouldn't have it any other way. Knowing everything about everyone makes for a fantastic support system despite how annoying it is sometimes. And this isn't to say that none of us know how to keep a secret- my sisters and brother keep information of mine that my parents will never know (sorry mom and dad!). At the same time my parents know things that my siblings don't (sorry guys!). One of the many things we all have in common though, no matter what information we have or don't have is that we always want the best for each other. There has never been a moment of bad relations between my siblings (as adults that is- I'm sure we did our fair share of bickering as kids), there has never been a moment when we didn't know that we could turn to anyone of our siblings for a listening ear, a word of support, or a piece of wisdom that was much needed. I have often wondered if our strong family unity is more common than not or if other families are as close as mine is. Despite stories of siblings who haven't talked to each other for twenty years or parents who disowned a child because of a slip-up, I remain optimistic that more families are like mine than not.

What makes my family unique however, is that they're mine. My siblings are mine and only mine.  I am one of only four lucky kids who were raised by my parents. We are part of a small culture that belongs to only us. And though we will share this culture through interactions with our friends, church members, and over time with our own children and posterity it remains uniquely ours. We created it. 

But the six of us didn't entirely create it on our own, did we? For starters, we have The Family: A Proclamation to the World that gives an outline of what our families are to strive to be. All of these principles that I was taught as a child were incorporated into our own family culture. Education, service, music, and unconditional love were all present in our home and as such became inseparably intertwined into what our family stands for. Sunday dinners with aunts, uncles, and cousins were regular occurrences all growing up and still happen. Requested rides to the airport in the wee hours of the morning isn't enough to induce rolling eyes and last minute babysitting phone calls are (usually) happily taken.

Besides the Proclamation to the World, we have a great family legacy. Last week I called my 87 year old (paternal) grandfather for a chat. With all of this new-found time I have, I'm trying to make strides in our family history. My grandfather had wonderful stories of dating my grandmother and what it was like being a newly married young man to a beautiful woman who was a few years his senior (and how cool he felt that she would date a sophomore in college while she was a senior). He told me some WWII stories and how pretty my grandmother was in her WAVES uniform. 

Grandpa Thompson and my sisters

The story I liked the best though was not a story at all. It was my 87 year old grandfather baring his testimony to me over the phone from across the state. He told me that he knows repentance is real and that families can be together forever if we are sealed in the Temple and keep our covenants. He told me that he knows that living the gospel of Jesus Christ makes us happy and creates a sense of satisfaction and love in our lives. He told me that he knows all of these things and that he hopes that I know them too and hopes that I will never depart from these principles. Reflecting on this the rest of the week I realized that I want this to be part of my own future family culture. I want my children to know that they come from a family that loves them and one that has strong roots in the gospel because in the end, though my testimony does not ride on that of my grandfathers or anyone's for that matter, it definitely contributes to mine. Mine is stronger because I know he has one and have seen his in action. Anyone who knows my grandfather loves him and has some story about him of him serving them or sending them a note in the mail or helping them with a calling. And this is where I hope the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. As much as I want my own family culture that is solely mine, either in the family I was raised in or my own future family it never will be because there are so many other influences, good influences. Not only do I want my children and posterity to think my husband and I are as great as I think my grandfather is or my parents are or my future husband's parents are, I want them to know about the people who came before them who have influenced the shape of our family. I want them to realize that it's our own culture yes, but it doesn't stop at only those who are alive but extends generations back into the pre-existence and will continue to extend forward. 

So as I had all of this on my mind last week I got to end my week with a family day on Saturday. Friday night I got to pick up my sister Whitney from the airport to stay the night and Saturday my dad came down to hang out with baby Lincoln. As is our family culture, we listened to music and reminisced about growing up. There was actually a moment when all of us were belting songs that were sang to us when we were little and looking up different renditions of them. (Like these: The Unicorn Song, 1814 Battle of New Orleans) We picked out what songs we wanted our phones to play as ringtones when we called each other and tried them out to see how they sounded. So there we were as per usual, singing old songs and sharing new ones recently discovered. It was almost an out of body experience that I hope I will never forget because in the end, this is my family and my family culture and I hope this apple doesn't (me) and future apples (my future children) won't fall too far from the tree. 

P.S. Here are some of our new favorite songs:

Ride On/Right On, Phosphorescent

Old Pine, Ben Howard

Stay With Me, NO

Skinny Love, Birdy

Dust to Dust, Civil Wars

Artificial Light, Typhoon

P.S.S Here are pictures from General Conference Weekend in Salt Lake City with my friends as well as more pictures from Charleston. You can see (some of) the completed projects I was working on- the candle holders and the mirror.