Family in Full Volume
Family in Full Volume
This month, my sister and four of her kids (ranging from 30yr - 7yr) made the trek to Marietta. Her oldest brought her baby who is all of seven months old. I know I sound old, but seriously how is she grown enough to be married with a baby?? Her sister is now old enough to get her license and her brother just started middle school! I totally felt every bit of my 45 years as I sat there taking it all in!
Let me paint the scene: 13 people (2 teenagers, a 7, 6, and 4 year old, a baby, a potty-training puppy, and 7 other people that somehow never discovered their “inside voice.” All crammed into my mama’s house like they were auditioning for a sitcom about Southern families — elbows in faces, luggage in hallways, air mattresses in every available square inch. Luckily, I’m close enough that we didn’t need to spend the night. But you do feel it when there’s 13 people, seating for 7, and 1 bathroom!
The girls were thrilled to see their cousin. They fell right into playing like no time had passed — running through the house, squealing, and plotting who knows what while Nugget chased behind adding barks to the squeals. And the baby? Oh, she wasn’t about to miss a thing. She sat in the middle of the living room floor with that gummy smile and a squeal that could rival the big kids, just trying her best to be part of the action. The teenagers were on their phones and yelling to each other over whatever videos or games were on full volume while all the adults were attempting to catch up over all the noise and somehow all at the same time. My dad, bless him - refused to turn off the TV, holding on to the hope the sound would somehow win out over everything else going on. Yep - CHAOS, which I’m sure could be heard from the street!
My parents… bless ‘em, they thrive on this kind of chaos. They love having all their people under one roof — the noise, the laughter, the simultaneous conversations where nobody actually hears anyone else but somehow we all think we’re keeping up.
The thing is, these visits are rare. We don’t get this kind of loud, messy, everybody-talking-at-once family time nearly enough. And as exhausting as it is to wedge ourselves into a house already bursting at the seams, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Because in between the noise and the crumbs and the tripping over pack ’n plays, there are moments — little snapshots — of pure joy.
And that, y’all, is worth every bit of the chaos.
#FamilyTime #SouthernFamily #CousinLove #FullHouse #PlanItMom #PlanItMomUS #GeorgiaLife #BlessThisMess
