Another Month, Another Musser Funeral

Today was my Aunt Bev's funeral.  She was the oldest of the Musser children.  It felt eerily strange to be back at the Milford cemetery saying goodbye to another one of my Dad's relatives.  Her husband Jack's funeral was in September and their son Mark's was a year earlier all in the same spot with the same preacher.  

It dawned on me as we were listening to stories of Aunt Bev's life that one thing that the Musser family all had in common was their brutal honestly.  They may not have always been right in their opinions, but they at least didn't hide how they were feeling.  As an adult I appreciate that way more than when I was a child.  In my youth it was hard to feel confident when someone said something mean.  Now I can laugh at what they said, agree with them or just walk away.  I've decided that I like that trait the best about my Dad's family.  No one is stabbing people in the back or purposely excluding someone.  They don't talk of being superior to anyone else, they just are who they are warts and all.  

Although I do not believe that anyone in the Heinisch home is mean, I do believe that all of our children and Doug and I are completely honest.  I also feel that the Musser in me has helped to set the tone for that.  From a young age, all of our children knew that it was better to be open and honest than to lie.  Being fake or running each other down was never acceptable either.  

I love that my children are still honest with one another and with us.  Last night when Cal complained loudly about having to miss a golf tournament to go to Brett's college graduation jn 2013, no one got upset.  They just stated their own opinion on the subject.  (It was no surprised that no one sympathized with him, especially Meg and Cameron, as they had attended their fare share of Cal's events.). Lately, Cameron has been sharing his thoughts on different topics that are relevant to life after college.  Although some of the topics are pretty deep, I appreciate that he feels comfortable giving his opinion just as his siblings did as his age.  "Honesty is the best policy" has definitely become the Heinisch family motto and I am very proud of that.