Love thru the generations

The celebration season is cause enuff for a number of family gatherings. I met several of my surviving aunts and together with my cousins, we rehashed all the old stories of the previous generations.
Our late grandpa was the stern looking one who had a soft heart. He brought several of his orphaned nieces and nephews and helped brought them up in the last century. Our late grandma was the disciplinarian. She had nine children plus all the orphaned kids she brought up and living thru a world war required her to bring them up with a firm hand.
Grandad was a medical doctor, repected by society even to this day. Unfortunately for him, the world at war requires one to take sides, and although he did not do so, being caught in the middle is not an easy life either.
Their nine kids were a handful to bring up.....we remembered stories of escapades and punishments, some sounding as exciting as the movies we see. The naughtiest son ended up as a high ranking police officer before retiring and going into business. Another son was made a mayor of the city. All the children became a success or had successful children.
As my aunts reminised over the past, I cant help but noted how the kindness my grandparents bestowed upon the orphans has been 'returned' several times over. My dad actually has more than his eight siblings, he has several cousin-sisters who love his kids unconditionally too.
My dad used to make sure that his cousin-sisters always had enuff money to spend. Nowadays thats what my siblings and I continue to do.....one of 'aunts' pulled me aside today to tell me to stop giving her money whenever we meet cos she is almost ashamed to keep on receiving.......I told her that if I had to stop doing that, I would also have to stop going over to eat her wonderfully delicious roast chicken forever!