Day 13--Reflecting on Childhood

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Day 13

When I think of my childhood, two families immediately come to mind....The J and the M families.  Most of my favorite memories were spent with these two families including many family getaway weekends ;)  The parents are still all very close and we kids like getting together when we can.  Every Christmas Eve my mother has a party where all three families get together.  It is so much fun, especially with my dad's crazy "Road to the 3 Kings Competition" and we love to relive the grand days of old.

We met the M family when I was in elementary school (our moms were Brownie Leaders together).  They have three daughters, just like us, and Nik is LB's age, Boo is K's age and Deetz is a few years younger but was usually my partner in crime :)  We spent many vacations at each other lake houses,  choreographed many dance routines (Circle in the Sand is my all time favorite) and theatrical performances (Pete's Dragon is a riot) and even a grown up vacation to Florida where S asked my dad for my hand in marriage :)   We have had a lot of fun over the years and I am so glad that we are all still in touch!

The J family has been my second family since we became neighbors when I was a tween :)  The family includes Papa J, Mama J, and the boys N (who is a few years younger than my sister K) and B (the baby) :)  I use to move in with them whenever my parents first turned on our heat in the house (so allergic to the dust and mold) and whenever Papa H would go out of town on business (I had to protect Mama J ;)).  I was one of their top babysitters (my sister was the other), started a tradition with B where I would pull him out of school for a day to have an adventure (Fun, Free, Friday), went on many vacations together (Cape Cod, the lake and Block Island) and the boys were both asked to be in my wedding (B couldn't make it due to a summer program but he did send Ducky....a story for another day ;)). 

I was really lucky to have these two wonderful families in my life growing up.  They were a very important part of my childhood and continue to be today.  I always know that whenever we are together there will be lots of laughs.  I can't wait for Christmas Eve!

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