Some thoughts after the family cookout

We gathered upstate on Friday for a cookout to celebrate our son in law's birthday. His family does it up every year at the home of one of his aunts, as both he and another of his cousins are born on July fourth. This year, my son and his wife joined the party, and my Brooklyn niece also came, her third year being there, she declared herself a regular now. My daughter still finds it a bit like worlds colliding that her brother is now pals with all her husband's upstate cousins. 

My son is law is from a big family, his mother is one of eleven, and he arrived on this earth with a large group of male cousins born within a few years of him. Most of them went on his bachelor trip to Tulum last year. My son, my niece's husband in Dallas, and the groom-to-be's friends from high school, college, and grad school were also on the trip. In all there were twelve men from very different backgrounds and life experiences, with very different social presentations, and yet they all got on famously, and are all now great pals. It was fascinating to see how warmly they greeted each other at the wedding, and then again last Friday. My daughter's husband is a connector. So is my son. In fact, they had a few natural connectors in that group, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised they all bonded. 

Come to think of it, the thing all those young men have in common is a strong sense of family. Maybe learning to navigate all the different and quirky personalities within large, close, extended families is good preparation for navigating the different and quirky personalities one encounters in life? I do know that growing up within my particular family definitely gave me an appreciation for people's quirks. In fact, I find I'm more drawn to people who let their freak flags fly. Here are a couple more cookout pics of my own beautifully idiosyncratic family.