We had a party for my 75 year old uncle/godfather Jack today. He is the most financially successful of my mother's siblings. He was top management at a Fortune 500 company. He has five children, a peck of grandchildren, and two great-grand children.

The party was sort of stiff in the way that these things tend to be in my mother's family. Our families saw each about once a year when I was young, and now that everyone is grown up it is more like once every four or five years. It's a chance to connect and find out how everyone is doing, but none of us really know each other anymore.

My cousin Paula's oldest son is in his first year of law school now. It is sort of strange. She's maybe five or six years older than I am, and when I was younger I had a crush on her. Now she has a son is grown up and could be practicing law in the same town that I live.

They did a roast of Uncle Jack, and it was funny listening to my cousing Joey explain how he and my uncle smoked pot and got drunk together while camping in the Adirondacks. Not the kind of thing you expect to hear at a somewhat stiff party. Joey is a grandfather himself now, and his children and grandchildren were there listening.

Even if it is a little awkward, there is still something nice about staying in touch with family.