Let’s see, in my family, I saw my daughter (step-daughter actually but I call her either one) and her partner, my niece and her three kids with a glimpse of her husband, my sister-in-law, two nephews who are brothers, (one with wife and two daughters, one a new baby), another nephew with a wife I’d never met, two former brothers-in-law, and the new wife of one of these fellows.

Sounds very Mexican, don’t you think? I’m resisting the temptation to draw out a family tree for you, but when I planned out the itinerary, I was aware of how Mexico has affected me. Family is so important here that it has become more important to me too. I also saw five old friends who are like family to me.

We Americans tend to scatter geographically and our family life pays a price. There’s also the matter that many (most? all?) families have dysfunctional aspects. Still, getting older, I find that my family means more to me than it did in the past. I am connected to these people in ways that have such deep roots.

One ex-brother-in-law was newly out of the hospital from a successful cancer surgery. I hadn’t seen him in close to 20 years. Don’t think I’ll wait that long again to go back to my old stomping grounds. In fact, I briefly entertained fantasies of living again in Sebastopol, California. (I used to run the public library there and when I stopped in, both librarians there remembered me. Nice!) But I don’t think I could afford California nowadays.

Back home in San Juan Cosala, I’ve chatted with various Mexican friends. They understand perfectly why I would make a trip that was all about family. (Well, a bit of shopping too, but even that was with family!)