A - Z Challenge - J is for Jakob

My theme for this challenge is family and relations.

Jakob – my family clan.

I married into the Jakob family but now think of myself as a Jakob.  Most of the sisters have new names from marriage but they still think of themselves as Jakobs.  So if they are all still counted in there are a lot of us.

As I’ve mentioned before my hubby is the eldest of 8.There are two boys and six girls and they ar The age ranges are as follows: siblings 42 – almost 60; grandchildren 8 – 37, great grandchildren 1 – 6, one of them is even called Jakob as he is not a Jakob by surname! 

They all look up to their Mum/Grandma/Great Grandma Maureen and are very united. They obviously don’t agree on everything but there have been no major falling outs with one another. By major I mean where if we were having a family get together someone would not be invited. That would seem very strange to them but my family background does include a family of cousins who have had major falling outs over the years and included a very embarrassing funeral on one occasion. 

Of course now that the family has expanded so much get togethers can be loud and difficult to host particularly when the family tradition is to be together at Christmas including the traditional sit down Christmas dinner.  We couldn’t do it here but one sister has a house big enough to accommodate us fairly nearby and we have all been to the sister that lives in France one year too. Although it is getting harder and I’m not sure how much longer we can keep that tradition going. It’s easier during good weather when we can spill out into a garden.

Another family tradition we had for many years was to go camping over the August bank holiday weekend.  Those weekends were always great fun and it was something the family had done since the children were small.  A variety of circumstances have led us to abandon camping to a more comfortable venue for a summer get together.  This year will see the third year of that and something we all look forward to.  The advantage of an indoor venue is that we have electricity to power the karaoke equipment.  I’m not much of a singer but after a glass of two of wine and with lots of encouragement I have been known to join in.

Family is really important to us.  Hubby can trace his roots back to Germany and then to a shop here in the East End of London.  This picture hangs in our kitchen and is a reminder of several generations.  My husband is top left and his dad is top right.