Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Making the world smaller

My husband's extended family on his dad's side recently created a WhatsApp group chat that is so active it's clear these family members were starving for contact. Messages arrive throughout the day, from relatives scattered from Antigua to Barbados, New York, New Jersey, Florida, North Carolina, England, Canada, and Spain. Suddenly, everyone feels closer than before, as they exchange old photos and bits of family history and lore, send birthday greetings, share Antigua news with exiles aboard, drop humor, update each other on individual doings, and express general joy at being in touch once more. The photo here was recently shared in the group. It shows the family gathered on July 4, 1959 for the wedding of one of my husband's aunts. His parents are standing on the far right, and my man points out that he is in the photo, too, as his mother (in polka dot dress) is visibly pregnant with him. His paternal grandparents are on either side of the bride and groom, and the other six in the photo are my husband's aunts and uncles. Such a handsome crew.



7 comments:

  1. What a wonderful family picture.

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  2. What a lovely family photo, and handsome indeed. Everyone looks so beautifully dressed.

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  3. There is no branch of you and your husband's families which is not beautiful.

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  4. my natal family had five people...mother, father, me, sister, brother. my mother had two older sisters, each childless. my father had one sister who had one child so I have only one first cousin. my sister and I each had two children, my brother only one. my sister's two girls each had two children, my brother's girl had one. my daughter had 4 but my son none so she made up for him. a small family going back and going forward. my husband though comes from a huge family. he's one of 7 as is his mother and all her siblings had large families. I found family gatherings on his side to be overwhelming until I got used to being in a room with nearly 200 people, all related.

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  5. What a joy it is to share old photos with family members and friends!

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  6. You have a lovely family. Thanks for sharing them.

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  7. What an amazingly handsome crew. Were the girls in the photo bridesmaids? And I love it that your husband points out that he is there. Too funny.

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