Family Vacation (i.e. three-ring circus)

There is truly no better way to introduce this baby girl into our family then by spending her 2nd week of life with the Culbertson clan on our annual vaca to Otis, MA!  While I really questioned my sanity as I packed up for a wedding in Watertown, MA followed by a week-long stay in the Berkshires, I was not going to be defeated by the unexpected arrival of a little 6 pound human into our lives.  So I stayed up all night to pack for myself, Micah, Pearl, Violet and Maizie, taking a "break" every 2 hours to change a diaper and give a bottle.  I should also add that I was still vain enough to give myself a mani/pedi , apply self-tanner, pluck my eyebrows & whiten my teeth mid-packing extravaganza (this occurred somewhere around 3am).

Somewhere in the middle of all that, I came to the realization that:

1) I want a minivan ASAP!
2) Newborns are easy, 3-year olds are mind-numbing
3) It is time to stop drinking decaf and start hitting up the real stuff again
4) Why did we ever get pets?

 Thought-provoking, I know.


But it was all worth it, because I really needed to be with my crazy, dysfunctional family this week.   With this group of family members, wild children, in-laws, our inbred family/church friends mix, and some super badly behaved dogs.....I realize why it is that I ever wanted to have children and adopt.  Because everyone deserves a family like this, like it or not.  This is why we are scratching and clawing at a chance to save Vivi from the state foster care system.  Because belonging to a extended family and friend group (however strange they may be) is something this little one needs.

When I was in high school, I sometimes wished I belonged in certain popular crowds.  But this feeling disappeared as soon I got on the bus, fell asleep, and was lucky enough to have one of my brothers punch me in the arm as he was getting off the bus to make sure I didn't miss our stop.  I didn't realize how important home was to me until I left for college, and it didn't take me too long to figure it out and transfer back home.

Being a Culbertson always felt like being a part of something really weird and really awesome. I have only been a Smith for 6 years, but I know its the same way in Micah's family.  From the weird nicknames, old family stories, and a refusal to let any old jokes die off...its like being a part of some sort of club, or maybe a life-sentence of some kind.

Like it or not, you have been initiated, Violet Gloria.  And we Culbertsons do NOT give up easily.