Often, during the course of a day, I find myself shaking my head and repeating a common phrase.
Only here.
I am sure that many of the things that go on in our house do not happen in other families. Maybe some things do. Probably the isolated incident or two, but certainly not with the intensity or frequency that I feel like they happen here. It might have to do with the sheer number of family members and certainly has to do with the unique set of perspectives, challenges, and personalities that collide and clash on a daily basis to form what I often refer to as The Vortex.
Easy to get sucked in. Hard to break out.
I guess by today’s standards we are a largish family. We are newly multi-generational. There are always ‘extras’. We have lots of things that make us different. We have a super open door policy and at any given time we can have a dozen or more people in the house. We are loud. So loud. And as much as I like to clean, organize and find a system for everything – chaos still abounds.
If you’ve ever wanted to be a fly on the wall of someone else’s experience. Find a perch. I’ll try to do it justice.
I’ve been lucky enough to bathe in some of your chaos and love the loudness and chaos. Reminds me of growing up at my grandmother’s house. She has 2 daughters (the oldest) followed by 4 sons all close in age. So there were still uncles living at home being teens when the grandchildren of the daughters came along. My mother, brother and I moved in while my uncles were finishing high school and tech schools and it was non stop chaos and noise and eating and friends in and out of every door. It was crazy and annoying and beautiful all at once.