The Leaven of Seven

A rare occasion occurred for us Kruggel's last week when we were all able to spend time together as a full, complete family (of seven). Between school, travels, sickness, work, and just normal (if there is such a thing these days) life activities, we gathered for about a week of just being together. Austin was gone almost all summer, as was Annie, and with the two little girls being relatively new to our family in the scheme of our chronology, it's rather amazing that it almost feels like we've always been a family of seven when we do "rally the troops". The girls love their older siblings, and the older ones just adore the girls. No doubt it's awkward and challenging at times having children straddle the two ends of the age continuum; a set in college and high school, and another set not even old enough to go school at all. It's challenging for Mom and Dad for obvious reasons, but it's also challenging for the older kids because their typical life experiences don't necessarily jive with those of a preschooler and a toddler. In the end, I believe we're all convinced way down deep that this is best for everyone because it forces us to think and behave outside of ourselves. Last Sunday, by way of example, all seven of us were enjoying a nice luncheon in a courtyard (where this picture was taken), together with some other collegial friends from CalPOLY San Luis Obispo, and right in the middle of a relaxing conversation Poppy accidentally tipped over a jumbo-sized cup filled to the brim with Pepsi. Some of us, especially Willow, were splashed with sugary syrup that interrupted our perfect outing. I guess that could have happened regardless of whether we had the little girls with us or not, but I'd say the odds were significantly higher with them there. So, what do you do? You say to yourself, "Oh well, no big deal. It's just soda-pop. We'll have sticky feet, pretend it didn't happen and just pick up where we left off." At the end of the day, we just wouldn't have it any other way. There's leaven in seven.

Content, with patience and stamina growing ever stronger,

Tom (& Victoria)