Opa!

Let's talk about Eva.  Since we only moved in 3 weeks ago and I'm not sure Eva would even know what a blog is if I told her about it, I didn't think it'd be fair to snap her pic to post.  But she's a cross between this: 

And an ultra chic grandmother.  She's are awesome Greek next door neighbor.  She dresses all in black.  Her sister lives around the corner.  She dresses all in black too.  And her daughter comes by often.  In, you guessed it, black.  I'll have to do some research as to what's up with the Greeks and their monochromatic wardrobe choices.  But that's for another post.  What amazes me about Eva is her family.  Every time we see her on her stoop, someone is visiting her.  She even has a little bench out front for her guests.  Eva and her sister walk the neighborhood regularly.  Her daughter, son (who oddly does NOT dress in all black), granddaughter, nephews, cousins, everyone all live within a few blocks or miles of here.  And they are always together.  And it's grand.  


All this visiting and going on (in Greek no less) got me thinking about back in the day when everyone lived so very close to their families.  And how much a part of your social life they were.  And how unusual it is to have that kind of close-knit circle anymore.  I think it is more common in the city and at least seems pretty popular in our neighborhood.  But all in all, there's a whole lot of moving away and spreading out that happens.  


Many of you know that Adam and I lived in Seattle before H came along.  We love it there, we miss it, and if we're being honest, we'll probably move back there some day.  And while there are a lot of ways in which our decision to move back east happened more out of our neglect to consider staying as an option than an actual choice, something was definitely calling us home.  


If you're my parents or my in-laws, you might be scoffing by now.  Because we see you guys maybe once a month.  And again with the honesty thing, that's just about perfect in our minds.  We like a little bit of space. But since gaining this new space, new territory here in Philly, I've become really aware just how glad I am that we're close(r) to family.  I've spent a LOT of my time and energy forging connections with other groups and other people, but my family is my original clan.  That's what I think Eva has - a clan, a tribe that she hails from.  And in my own way (and with a less exotic language and a more exotic wardrobe), I do too.


My mom is all types of into genealogy and tries to get me (the history buff!) to get into it to.  I usually am too interested in my own things to really listen to those stories and that history but watching Eva and her family over the past few weeks, it makes me want to get closer to my own.  They always keep me grounded and help to maintain balance in my life.  Afterall, I am in search of that balance, that TOV.  So while I'll keep marking my new little spot in this world, MOM - IF YOU'RE READING THIS (and you should), BRING ON THE TRIBE!