A Bigger Family Doesn’t Mean Better

I saw the meme above on Facebook today. And it reminded me of the culture I live in, here in the midwest.

This is where big families are king. And my small family of three is not.

While the trend of small families is pretty normal throughout the US, it is not in the cluster of states known as Ohio/Indiana/Illinois/Kentucky.

I have found this out the hard way, moving from NY to Ohio over 20 years ago. I knew I was marrying into a big family but didn’t realize the complexities that come along with that.

First, my in-laws think big families are superior. If there is a big event, everyone has the event where they have the biggest family/biggest property.

Second, this goes for most major holidays. It has taken years and years and years to change traditions. I don’t necessarily want to spend every single 4th of July for the rest of my life at the big family picnic.

Third, when you push back on something like that, you are going to get resistance. Such as being called “antifamily” or “not family oriented”.

Which for me is bs. Because most of my major family members died 20 years ago, which is something I can’t control, I don’t have the “big family” to go and visit.