Family Obligations

I spent most of the afternoon in my hometown with my oldest brother talking to people at least 20 years my senior. Though I am a southern girl, I was born in southwestern Pennsylvania and went to school there until the 3rd grade. However, my three older brothers were raised here and graduated from high school in our small hometown in Beaver County. Today was part of the 4th of July and Centennial Celebration where all the high school classes gathered in the new Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center that was built on the former site of the high school. The facility is beautiful and I'm excited to know that my nephew will be teaching there. And there were SO many people there today, from every class - it was astounding to see the turnout (they actually had to stop giving tours because it was overwhelming the tour guides!). But I can't say it was how I would have preferred to spend my Sunday afternoon. I had planned to have brunch with one of my closest friends and her husband and go to the movies with another friend and THEN go to visit the reunion and cook an early dinner for my family (my oldest sister-in-law and niece were due in from their trip to Cleveland). Instead, I had to cancel plans with my friends and then escort my brother to his reunion. Not that I minded spending the day with him, but really, if I had to be introduced one more time as his "little sister" I thought I was gonna scream. (By the way, he finally realized his 34-year-old sister didn't like that introduction and he stopped). I just know this week will be filled with me traveling back and forth from Pittsburgh to Beaver County for various family functions and holiday events and I know I will be super-tired by the time next weekend rolls around. I shouldn't complain - I am so blessed to have the family that I have, but there are times the obligations just get to me because I can't seem to get them to realize that though I'm single and don't have my own family, I do have my own life and it doesn't always revolve around them. At least it's only two weeks of the year when I'm really this obligated, so I should just stop fussing about it.