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Becoming A Part of My Husband’s Family. A Shift I Wasn’t Prepared For!

From seven to seventy family members!

Catherine ~ On Spirits' Wings
Hope, Healing, and Humour
4 min readJan 14, 2025

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A group photo of approximately 50 with the elderly aunts and uncles in lawn chairs in front.
A typical family picnic gathering with family and a few friends, in Maple Park, Vancouver. Author photo.

Entering my husband’s family was a bit of a culture shock.

I grew up in a family of five, plus my Grandma, who later married. There were seven of us in total. We saw our extended family very rarely. A meal at Easter and Christmas. Other than that, it was just us, Grandma and Grandpa. Our family birthday celebrations were a time to cozy in. That was a good thing.

My husband’s family are huge in comparison. His (our) immediate family on his side now has 19 members. Extended family gatherings easily include seventy people, and they get together at the drop of a hat!

Chris’s father had ten siblings. They live in Singapore, but when we were first married, there were annual visits from Singapore. We were forever called to Vancouver to celebrate the arrival of one family member or another. Our attendance was strongly encouraged.

Family was so important to Chris’ dad; he flew us all to Singapore the year he turned 80. He hoped to plant seeds of connection with his grandchildren and his siblings back home. It worked! My son and his immediate cousins in Vancouver have now been ‘back home’ twice! They have heart connections to their cousins across the world! We were…

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Hope, Healing, and Humour
Hope, Healing, and Humour

Published in Hope, Healing, and Humour

A delightful place to spend some time, feed your soul, be inspired, and laugh a lot.

Catherine ~ On Spirits' Wings
Catherine ~ On Spirits' Wings

Written by Catherine ~ On Spirits' Wings

I am the quiet one. The seeker. The wonderer. The lover of life. A heart-wide-open, soulful, inspired listener, storyteller, and ghost whisperer!

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