Thankful for the Hall Clan.

The branches in my family tree span far and wide.  I love my family.  Every single one of them.  The older I get the more I appreciate them.  We are a big mass.  When we gather, it's entertaining.  It's a group that I feel 100% comfortable being myself in front of.  I know that none of them will judge me.  They have a way of touching your heart just by being them.

We are extended.  There are branches covering the big cities, and leaves that fall around the hills in some of the most rural parts of the state.  My soul is full and happy when they are around.

Cousins are some of the first friends that you make.  And unlike other friends that come and go from your life as people grow and change, cousins will always be connected to you because you share the same roots.  You'll always have that in common. When we get together, like most normal family functions… we eat.  When we gather, we talk and joke.  There may have potentially been an entire year that separated us, but it never feels that way.  When the cousins hang out… we usually end up giggling about our crazy parents (the siblings), sons and daughters of Bob and Pat Hall.  The late, great grand-dad left behind quite a legacy of tough individuals.  And our saint of a grandmother has love that flows out of her pores effortlessly.

My mom is number 6.  My grandma had 8 children over the course of 10 years. That's approximately 2,300 days of pregnancy.  Yet, I swear she has less wrinkles on her face than I do.  Out of those 8 children, my mother is 1 of 2 that only birthed 1 child (yours truly).  Like the rest of her siblings, she remarried someone who had children as well, therefore inheriting step-children and in her case grand-children.  Regardless of whether you are a 1st cousin, a 2nd cousin, a cousin's step-child, a half cousin, or boyfriend or girlfriend of a cousin… you're still considered part of the Hall Clan.

There are Hall traits that we are proud to have, or frustrated we got stuck with.  We joke that craziness runs in the family.  There are the "Hall green eyes" and the infamous Hall feet.  If you've been riddled with the Hall feet, all that really means is that you've inherited some sort of foot problem.  You have foot trouble, pain, soreness, bunions, bone spurs, the middle toe that slightly curls away from the big toe.  And let me tell you it's a strong trait in our family… even the one who was adopted and has no blood relation to our family has "Hall feet".  And if you're one of those lucky ones, chances are you're one of us who frequently wears Birkenstocks.  Not just for "hippies" anymore.  The original Birk wearing hippie Aunt is Aunt Becky.  She's the first person that I can recall to religiously wear Birkenstocks.  I believe after 25 years of wear, she had her original pair finally re-soled.  :) I'm guilty of it, along with a number of my cousins.  They make cuter shoes now that are equally great for your feet.

My mom is the sweet one.  Sweet Aunt Julie.  Her sisters would disagree.  Aunt Terri is the bossy one. Her sisters would definitely agree.  Aunt Becky is the "naturalist".  They each have their label that we (the cousins) give them and then giggle about.  All the same, we are all Halls and that's all that matters.  Ties that bind.  Thankful for this clan of mine.