~THE CLARK CLAN~

I must have been in one of my quieter moods today...obviously, when you have a couple of people ask you why your so quiet you have to wonder how obnoxiously loud you are normally. I drove to Delta today to attend the graveside service for my Aunt Shirley. She is the first of my dad's siblings to pass away. She was 88 years old and a beautiful lady. She leaves us with so many "Clark" memories that we will treasure forever. On the ride down today I started to think about how very blessed I have been to grow up in such a remarkable family. The Clark's are, in my opinion some of the best people in the world and I was lucky enough to be born into that family. What a great childhood we had. I say "we" because it was never just me. The Clark's are a tight knit group of family members that really didn't need many outsiders. We had someone for everyone within our own family. Dave, Matt and Nancy started it all and will probably be there to end it all. Ya gotta love those three. The rest of us looked up to them in awe thinking that whatever they did was pretty much God-like and should be revered or at the least mimicked to some degree. Attempts to do so were usually lost in translation or simply ignored. All our lives we have been Dave, Matt or Nancy's little sister or brother...You know, I really don't think anyone actually knew my first name until AFTER they had graduated from high school!

It is at occasions like today that bring us all together and get us reminiscing about our "yester-years" . What a great afternoon. I am sure that Aunt Shirley was smiling at all the laughter and stories that were being tossed around the table by family members as we sat and enjoyed each other's company. Sadly our busy lives and the miles that separate us, keep us from getting together more often but one thing is for sure, when we are together we are family, one big, loud, joyful, group of Clark's!