On Family (Part 1)

In light of mine and stephen's upcoming nuptials, i've been thinking alot about "family".

i come from a good old fashioned Italian family: One mother, one father and an older brother. My brother just got married this past September and has a daughter from a previous relationship (she just turned 9 in November). All in all we're a very small family, considering other italians usually consist of aunts, uncles, cousins by the dozens, grandparents and various permutations of step family that usually come with **whispers** divorce. Let me explain why we're such a small group:
1) after 35 years of marriage, my parents are still together.
2) all my granparents are dead.
2) we're the black sheep of Clan L-------a.
why, you may ask? well here's where things get kinda fuzzy. like most families, mine has alot of in-fighting amongst the different cabals that form over time. Unlike most families, though the cabals that have formed in mine have resulted in theft of estates and embezelment of funds. Yup my family is like the italian version of Dynasty, complete with shoulder pads. Somehow, through all the backbiting, rivalry, and will snatching my immediate family remains honest. My ex-cop of a dad was basically cut out of his father's estate by his two older siblings and my mom's one and only sister absconded with grandma's entire life savings (including jewlery and antiques) leaving her a virtual pauper. As for my cousins, they're honestly no better than their parents. One's currently in prison, another is a wife beating alchoholic and the rest are just as two-faced as my aunts and uncles.

the Waltons we ain't.

so that leaves just the seven of us (this number includes Stephen, my lovely sister-in-law, and my niece/god-daughter) basking in each other's warm glow. Luckily for all concerned, my parents don't own any property, have just enough money to be considered "comfortable", and encourage my brother and i to be much closer than we are (and probably could ever be). there's only two of us so when (godfubbid) dad goes, mom gets "everything", when she (godfubbid) goes it "all" gets split down the middle (all i know is that i want the Christmas Spode, he can have everything else). My brother and his wife are expecting another child (due the day before my mom's birthday). i hope this kid is ready.

"It's a victimless crime, like tax evasion or public indecency"~ Karen Walker