Family

The Ys - S’s clan - graced us with their presence this week.

We did things like visit the Asian Market in Quincy, the Blue Hills in Milford, and the Library in Randolph. Basic things. Fun family things that we would have done on our own time, but loved doing with them.

Among our most touristy days were those spent in Cambridge, where Poppa Y, chemistry professor, was presenting at a conference on “green” chemistry.

We toured around MIT and Harvard and dined at some lovely restaurants while there. Around the table at meals we got a chance to talk politics, science and life.

S’s mom is as sweet and funny as ever, and S’s little brother L is as tall as a tree, and I am actually pretty proud to say, a really good teenager.

It is funny to hang out with S’s family and see the traits he shares with them - his dad, who tends to make everything bigger than life, his mom, who share’s most of S’s eccentric phobias, and his little brother, who shares S’s love of all things video game.

As much fun as it was, and as good as it was to see them, it also made me appreciate my own little nuclear family – how I got to grow up a “friendly introvert” with plenty of time to myself and to share.

It is refreshing to know that families of all types can keep forming us for the better even when we’re grown.