Familial Tendencies Developing in the SouthEast...

I spent last weekend in Florida with vaious members of my family that I do not normally spend much time with. You know, people are very interesting. My great-uncle, for example, is running for County Commissioner. I had to ask him what that involved. Basically everything on the local level, with the exception of law enforcement and taxes. He will find out tonight the results of the election. My great-aunt (his wife's sister) has been living with her mother and her daughter in multi-generational sorority since her husband passed away nearly a year ago. I must say, they have one of the most interesting and active households I have ever seen. She is a woman of great faith and great perseverence. Which is nice to see. So many people take tragedy like a shirt takes repeated washings, with a slow fade. My great-grandmother (her mother), as I mentioned, is staying with her as well. She actually takes turns staying with her three daughters in a fairly random rotation. Far from being a conversation piece, she has a great deal of spunk which largely manifests itself at the dinner table when cards are present. I have the honor of having whupped her (and the rest of them) at progressive rummy the other night, after which my life was spared, which is the where the honor lies. You see, before me, my great-grandmother is the only other redhead in the family. She is also a poet, an artist, and full-blooded Irish, which is where I choose to trace my roots from, as they seem prominent in me. (Admittedly, I'm probably a bit more German, but if countries were sports clubs, Germany would have had a bad lot of seasons, and when it comes to genealogy, I'm a bit of a fair weather friend, so...there it is).
The most interesting thing about all of this is that I never really found within myself a strong inclination towards knowing or spending time with my family. That seems to be changing, as many things change, and whether it's bad or good, it's life, which I ultimately see as good. It could be because I'm married now, or because I have a stronger sense of mortality than I ever did before (I still leap around and abuse my body, but now the injuries linger). Whatever the reason, I'm enjoying figuring out who all these people are, and, in the meantime, am being very well fed.