Time has flown...in so many ways. This past weekend I finally met up with my half-siblings, for the first time since I was 6 years old. 20 years!! The whole fam-damily flew in to San Francisco for my Dad's 80th anniversary in this world, and rather than being what you'd expect of a reunion -- family drama, conflicting egos, skeletons in the closet -- it was instead pleasant, fun, jovial, and above all, fulfilling. (I guess not talking for 20 years helps avoid resentments!! I mean, really, what can a 6 year old do to offend anyone?)

So there's a new cast of characters:

Barbara -- the eldest of the House Clan of Children -- my only (half) sister -- calm, considerate, demuring -- If you recognize the name it's probably because she's audited you! -- mother of my eldest nephew (24 years old...ha!) -- married to a wonderful, sassy, I-swear-I'm-not-a-chef-but-I'll-cook-a-5-course-meal-for-you man named Ron, her college sweetheart -- owner of a lovely, quiet, ranch house in Danville, frequented by jays, quails, mourning doves, and hummingbirds -- an Aquarius.

Skip -- a.k.a. Tom the Second (don't dare call him Junior) -- the eldest 'middle' child -- the name and military legacy in our family -- father of my 3 other nephews, one of whom has served in Iraq and is headed back -- an extreme extrovert, swinging single, ski-or-die-trying type -- housed in Colorado Springs and a staunch lauder of all things Coloradian -- honestly, you'll never wonder what this man's thinking because he'll probably already be telling you! -- but don't let him tell you you're a doctor unless you really are one -- the Taurus legacy.

Todd -- the 'first baby' of the House Clan of Children -- a former auto-mechanic to the stars who has retired to the less exhausting (ha, get it?) world of electrical supply -- not to mention politics (if you see sneaker footprints on the republican campaign trail, I'll bet they're his!) -- the bird lover legacy (unless they be pigeons, in which case the raptors outrank them) -- the most bearded member of the family -- the self-described most emotional of the family -- married to Tuni, artiste extraordinaire, a triumph of the heart in multiple ways, and patron saint of wild pigs, lizards, rattlesnakes, cats, and jack russell terrors (though supposedly theirs isn't a terror, and is more of a napper...) -- a Capricorn.

And this is what I've gathered from a mere 4 days and a few emails of knowing them -- imagine if I actually use the next 20 years?