It's Tradition – How I See My Family

I'll admit – I shied away from this subject at first. When Wes announced this family-focused theme for his contest this week, my first thought was 'No Waay! Where would I even begin?'

Here's the thing – the people I come from haven't been shy about furthering their bloodline. At the time of her death, my mum's mum, Therese (who we all fondly called Nanny), was responsible for the existence of 45 souls (children, grand/great-grand children, of which there are now even more.)

My mother (@faune) was the eldest of Nanny's 8. She, in turn, had six. Of her brood, I'm number 5.

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^{My Beautiful Nanny – Mum on Nanny's lap}

^{Nanny with grandchildren, late 70's – that's me, third from the left.}

^{My awesome family, late 70's – me, in my mum's arms (above) & in backpack (below)}

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I really could pick any one of my village of relatives and have plenty to write about. Making selections, it turns out, is kind of my achilles heal. Instead, it seems fitting to share the family tradition I started almost ten years ago.

For our family, Thanksgiving has always been our holiday. It's far less about the original meaning of that day, and all about spending the day together and sharing what we're grateful for as we enjoy our delicious meal – always prepared expertly by my elder sister, Mirm.

In 2007, having recently finished my photography program, I made this mashup of memorable moments from that day – it seemed everyone was playing instruments, and I wanted to convey our shared musicality in one image.

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The following year, mum wanted everyone to cluster together to take the yearly group photo. You know the kind – someone always has their eyes closed, and people have red-eye, and someone invariably looks awkward. Plus – it's a lot of people to wrangle. As a budding pro-photographer, I loathed both the process and the result. That year – I had a much better idea.

I wanted to take an individual portrait of everyone wearing a ridiculous hat. I thought it would capture personality and commemorate the year in a far more interesting way. Mum wasn't so sure, but – once she saw what I made of it, she (and every one else) was sold.

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I was in India the following year, so – we're missing 2009. As well, 2015 is missing for a sad reason that I won't rehash, but 'The Silly Hat Portrait' truly has become an integral part of our holiday.

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Even unborn Jade was represented in 2010 – warm in her mama's swelling belly – wearing the monkey hat, just like the rest of us!

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Sometimes I choose the goofy expressions – sometimes the soft smiled serious vibe feels more appropriate. Regardless, these have become like evenly spaced time-capsules – visual records, measuring our familial evolution.

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I love looking back and seeing how everyone has changed – babies have been born and grown into big kids; kids have grown into teens and young adults – puppies have appeared. (Pets are people, too!)

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There are almost always new faces as people bring friends – relationships begin and end – people pass on.

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In 2016, we had so many people I could scarcely follow my standard format! Somehow, I made it work...

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Looking at these is somehow bittersweet; we've all grown so busy and pre-occupied with our own lives – the only time we see each other is for this one day. At least we have these oft ridiculous records of that rare gathering.

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When I first had the idea in 2008, I had no idea how meaningful it would become. Now...I know these will be treasured heirlooms, looked upon decades from now, hopefully with more laughter than tears.

Families are complicated – mine as much as anyone's. We don't always get along, but I love them all dearly. This is my sneaky way of showing them all how beautiful they are to me.

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