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The More, the Merrier. Or Is It?
What growing up in a family of two taught me about belonging to a family of many.
I got introduced to my partner’s family gradually, one brother or parent at a time, after we had been going out for some time. This was to ensure I wouldn’t feel too overwhelmed or intimidated, I was told. I never felt I had an issue with large group of people, but perhaps there was a hint of social anxiety about me that made my partner think I needed to be carefully acclimatised. His family setting of five brothers certainly stood in stark contrast to my upbringing as an only child with half of my extended family living abroad. So I went along with the introduction process.
I remember my astonishment of seeing the similarity of facial features between his brothers when I met each of them for the first time. At each encounter it was different features that stood out, yet the brotherly similarities were unmistakable across the entire gang. It quietly amused me then. Now, I hardly notice it anymore.
I also remember knocking over a large glass of wine across the table from my partners’ mother on our first dinner together. 20 years later, I still haven’t dared to ask if she ever managed to remove those wine stairs, neither do I recall what blouse she was wearing that evening.
