Amy's Blog

The plan is for this blog entry to be the first in a series of entries about my family leading up to my annual family reunion. I just came back from a trip to the reunion. 

Most people that know me pretty well know that I am not very close to my parents.  That naturally happened over several years given that I am the oldest of four in the family and there is a 16 year age difference between myself and my youngest sibling. Both of my parents were raised in single parent households in the 50s and 60s, which was not as common as it is today.  My mother’s mother died very young when I was 8 years old.  Her father has not been an active part of her life for many years. My mom has three siblings, and we have not stayed in touch over the years.  My father’s father was an absentee dad, so I never knew him. He passed away almost 10 years ago. 

That leaves my only grandparent, my dad’s mom. As a kid, my sister and I spent lots of time at Grandma’s house. We loved spending weekends and school breaks with her. We cooked, baked, played card games, visited patients at the nursing home, extended family, went out to eat, and traveled. Some of my favorite childhood memories involve trips to Grandma’s.  As I became an adult and graduated from college, Grandma and I stayed very close. She is one of my best friends.  Grandma will be 88 this year, and I am very thankful that she can still live alone and drive, and is in decent health.  Because I have spent my life having such a close relationship with Grandma, I have had the opportunity to get to know and become close with several members of my extended family. 

Grandma is the oldest of six children. Uncle Jim passed away almost two years ago. He and his wife were married 59 years and had five children. Uncle Bob and his wife raised a family of five daughters in Ohio. Aunt Maureen had three boys and one girl.  Ginger joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia and just recently celebrated 50 years with them. Uncle Jerry and his wife raised eight daughters.  So, with the families of Grandma and her brothers and sisters, I have several aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts & uncles, and more cousins, etc. 

I consider myself very fortunate to have had and continue to have such a great relationship with my Grandma all of these years.  I’m so thankful for her and the positive impact that she has had on my life. I owe my interest in my family tree and genealogy to her.  She made sure that we knew our family history and origin. I am also grateful that I have gotten to know so many members of my extended family.  We made many trips down to Oklahoma for family reunions every year.   Those reunion trips were, and still are a blast!

I plan to blog more about that later.

I’ve been told by friends, family, coworkers, boyfriends, etc. that sometimes my expectations of myself and others can be too high. In my opinion, there is no such thing. 

I expect myself to keep my health and fitness as a high priority in life. But, I do understand that it is not healthy to stress and obsess over it 24-7. 

I serve as a volunteer in several organizations and I expect my fellow volunteers to at least do what they will say they will do and be held accountable for their responsibilities just as I would from a coworker or colleague.

On a more basic level, I expect good service…is that too much to ask? The gym that I work out at is super cheap…a lot cheaper than other gyms in the area, however, machines aren’t always in working order and the track isn’t swept on a regular basis.  I usually go to the gym first thing in the morning when they open for the day and yet I find empty paper towel dispensers, empty soap dispensers, etc. I complain and my friends tell me I have no right to complain because of how cheap it is. Really? I have no right to complain? I may not be paying much, but I’m still paying….

Anyway, I will get off of my soapbox now.