A Family Affair

I come from a large family. Not quite Duggar-sized but large nonetheless. My mom is the oldest of eight. I am one of 10 cousins on the Bosch side. And that doesn’t include in-laws. Needless to say our family functions are well-attended. Over the years I’ve become accustomed to record attendance. The more the merrier in my opinion. The year my parents decided to host a Murphy family Thanksgiving with only 5 of us, I nearly cried. I’m pretty sure we’ve had rotating Bosch family members ever since.

It’s only fitting then that we celebrate birthdays the way we celebrate any other tailgate holiday– together. And since we have so many birthdays in August, we have taken to celebrating them all with a singular gathering each year rather than individually. A frenzy of celebration that someone coined…

(children please put on your earmuffs blindfolds)

Augasm.

It was a short 9 years ago when family members gathered for a bar crawl to toast two of my cousins as they turned 21.

So when their birthdays approached this year, we had little choice than to “take it back to the streets” to celebrate the big 3-0.

Now we don’t always celebrate Augasm with a bar crawl. That would be a little excessive. Some years we celebrate at a tailgate or at someone’s house. But regardless of location, you can count on:

Beer. Gardens. Beer Gardens.

Scary photos from 9 years ago when you had a soccer mom bob and wore way too much lipstick.

Half prom/half basketball photo shoots.

Enough family members to fill the aforementioned beer garden.

Sibling rivalry.

Lessons in moderation from the younger generation.

We interrupt this blog post for a musical break.

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But our neighbors might have

Finn and I were here just minding our own business watching Allen Craig crank a grand slam when we noticed an unusually large number of sirens sounding outside. I live near the medical district so it’s not uncommon to hear sirens multiple times per day. Finn is so used to noise that barks at the quiet when we go home for visits. City dog.

There were no alarms and I didn’t smell smoke, but when the sirens softened at a pretty close distance I figured it was time for Finn and I to go check things out. Finn can sit, shake, high five and stay but the poor kid has yet to master stop drop and roll.

We were greeted out front by some of Chicago’s finest firefighters. Literally. I had to do a double-take to make sure I didn’t spot Severide or Casey. Nope, these guys were the real deal.

Fortunately the fire was small and contained to a balcony on the opposite side of the building. It was out within 20 minutes, but left just enough time for a crowd to gather to watch the guys do their thing.

And so we’re back, but not before Finn tried to leave me to become a Firetruck Swissy. I swear that kid will jump into any type of vehicle. I must admit he did look pretty handsome next to that red truck.

Back to the regular scheduled programming.

This year’s Augasm didn’t disappoint. It may not have been as rowdy as 9 years ago, but it was just as memorable. And for those who don’t remember, we have a notebook filled with messages and photos and enough laughter to last until next year. Or at least until football season starts.