I’ve known for quite some time that I was very lucky when it came to where I got to spend my Christmas/Easter/Thanksgiving celebrations. While Matt is the last child in a family with four other siblings, his family is scattered all over the country, and thus don’t get the opportunity to see each other very often. Thus, we generally head over to the Rewolinski household for celebrations and festivities.

While this has been a huge relief for me (as well as a point of envy for two of my sisters), I’m finding it increasingly difficult to find ways to get to know my “future in-laws,” especially when I get the feeling that the first time I meet them will probably be only days before we walk down the aisle.

While Facebook has been a great resource in introducing and keeping in touch with my future family members (I think I heard it once called “one big family room”), e-mail and phone calls have been great as well.

At least, e-mail has been great. I’m still pretty green when it comes to keeping a steady conversation with my future mother-in-law on the phone (Why I get so nervous, I will never be able to explain). 

So, until we are able to meet face-to-face, I try to keep in touch with Paulene and Roger as best I can through holiday cards and packages, e-mails, and of course, this blog. His sisters and brothers, I’m still trying to discover a way to get to know them.

Growing up in a family with seven siblings, I have no idea what it must be like to be away from each other for so long. When I was in South Africa for service learning, the longest I went without talking to someone in my family was about 10 days. Other than that, my mom and dad made sure to call me every day, to see what life was like at St. Anne’s Homes, The University of the Western Cape, or otherwise.

To be without my family for as long as Matt has been would be a hardship for me, which is why I’m trying to find a way to make the distance seem a bit smaller than it really is. While I can’t jump on a plane and have dinner with his parents, I can try my hardest to let them know what life is like for us, hundreds of miles away.

-Amy

Music playing while writing this: “This Must be the Place” Talking Heads