Lange Family

 My dad came from a family of eight children.  Seven boys.  One girl.  

The one girl was my dad's twin sister.  

She used to joke that the only way she got into this family was by bringing a boy with her. 

A couple jokes my dad liked:

When asked who was older, he would reply, "She is.  I always let ladies go first."

When asked if they were identical, he would answer, "No.  She's a girl, and I'm a boy."

He referred to her as his "womb mate".

I know twins share a bond that others do not understand.  When my dad died, it was my aunt I felt the most sorry for.  Even more than either my sister or myself.  It was my aunt, I knew, who was hurting the most.

At my dad's funeral, after the others made their way to their seats, I noticed my aunt was still at the back of the church with my dad's coffin.  I asked if she was alright.  She looked at me, tears glistening, and said, "I feel like I am supposed to go too."  

Oh, how that broke my heart.

Fast forward about 23 years and today my aunt celebrated her 89th birthday!!

Sadly, out of the eight children who all shared a childhood, only two remain. But I love, love, love that my Uncle Al was able to join in and be with my aunt as she celebrated her big day.  

A little family back story:

I mentioned my dad came from a family of 8 children.  What I did not mention was how my grandmother, for the most part, raised those children on her own.  

For a few years with the older boys, she did have the help of my grandfather.  My grandfather's life, however, was cut short, and my grandmother was left with seven children... and a baby on the way.  (That baby is seen in the above photo with my aunt.)

Thankfully, she had the help of her family and, most importantly, the help of her God.  

My grandmother had an unshakable belief in and reliance on her Heavenly Father, and she passed that on to her children and her grandchildren.  

When you see old childhood photos of the family, you either get the photo with Grandma and Grandpa and seven of their children ... or... you get Grandma with all eight of their children. 

This is the one I have:

Oftentimes as adults it was hard to get all eight back together, but here they all are at a family reunion a few years back.

I always loved coming from such a warm and loving family.  And while my immediate family was small, I found comfort in coming from such a big extended family.

Again, of the eight, only two remain on this side of heaven, but, my heart is so happy that those two were together today.

I know it was a good day.