In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day’s work.  It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.  ~Jacques Barzun

Last year, Claud’s mother, Cherry, sent us airline tickets so we could spend Christmas with our family in England. We were all very excited about this trip. Claud has a very large family. He has a sister with three kids, a brother with four kids, and another brother with two kids, and we have four kids. He has a grandmother, parents, and loads of friends. We all get together for Christmas at the family farm in Berkshire. Every year we spend Christmas over there, I am overwhelmed by the large family gathering. I am an only child, well I was until I was 19, so it’s all very different from what I am used to. I just love having these large family gatherings. I love watching all of the cousins play together. The children always throw together a show and it’s usually pretty good. One year it was a variety show, one year the nativity, and one year it was a musical. These shows make the 12 hours of traveling worth the trip.

Actually, I love to travel and I never get tired of visiting England. It is so wonderful there with the rolling hills throughout the countryside, farms divided by hedges, little brick pubs, crystal clear rivers, listening to the accents, and, of course, the amazing food. England gets a bad rap for its food. But, the food there is wonderful. There is the pub food which is usually the traditional English fare like Bubble and Squeak, Bangers and Mash, Sheppard’s Pie, Jacket Potatoes, and Fish and Chips. Sure, it is fun just to say Bubble and Squeak but it is more enjoyable to eat it. This food is delicious. Then, England has the most amazing Indian, French, Cuban, and even Mexican restaurants I have ever had the pleasure to sample. So, just as a casual visitor, England is fantastic. However, we are not casual visitors when we descend upon England. We combine with the rest of the Monro’s to create quite an interesting, but fun, group.

I’m the American Claud married, and boy am I stereotyped by everyone. Heidi is the high strung Australian Claud’s brother, Joe, married. Fred, Claud’s other brother, and Charlotte are the typical English couple who remained living close to their parents. They even had children AFTER they were married…very traditional. Maud, Claud’s sister, is the single mother of three who has a boyfriend nobody seems to like, but I haven’t met him yet. I can’t leave out Mita, Claud’s Ex because she is always included in our family get togethers. She and her boyfriend actually live next door to Claud’s mother. But, mostly I look forward to seeing Claud’s parents and especially his mother, Cherry. What a great name… Cherry. You can’t help but be an incredible person with a name like Cherry.