The people who matter the most

Two Saturdays ago, I had the best ever weekend in a long while. I absolutely love, enjoy and cherish spending time with my family.

My family on my dad's side had a small family get together at my Grand-mom's house. She's our matriarch, a strong woman, a woman we deeply admire.

This side of the family is extremely large, so “small gatherings” aren't so small. My Grand mom had 12 kids, from whom she got 40 plus grand kids and a growing number of great grandchildren.

We also celebrated my mom's birthday as well; I must say she is aging gracefully.

Mom and me

We had a fun filled day with good food, homemade ice cream and a cooler of drinks.

My dad, as always being the center of attention, entertained us with endless stories from when they were younger. Coming to think of it, even though we've had endless family get-together's, we've never really heard the same story twice.

So while my dad entertained his siblings and the more mature folks downstairs, we the "young people" (average ages 18 to 35yrs) had some very simulating conversations in my Grand-mom's living room. The two which were the most enjoyable and knowledgeable were on Spirituality/Religion and roles of the husband vs. wife. There were differences in opinions and perspective and we shared stories to support our opinions. 

However the thing I admired the most is that we had these discussions without any anger or vexation towards one another for the differences in beliefs and opinions. We were respectful and open minded to the other's choices and views on the topics.

I must say that these conversations have been the most thought provoking I've had in a while and I'm proud of the way we handled it. It shows that we are maturing. We are no longer the Galera girls and boys; we are the Galera women and men. We are the third generation of Galera's and our name will remain strong for generations to come. We represent strength, intelligence and beauty.