Family Gathering.

 

The older we get, the harder it is to get us all in one place.

I said to my husband once, long ago:

"There will be a time.

A time when my sisters will be older,

And they will have lives that are bigger than now...

And I won't have as much time with them.

So right now?

Right now I am just going to be with them.  As much as I can.

Whenever I can."

 

I had them visit me wherever I went,

college dorms, first apartments, my first "home" as a new wife.

I often picked them up halfway between my life and theirs.

One hour, one way, to tuck precious bags in my car and steal them for a weekend.

Four hours roundtrip driving for a weekend of sisterhood.

The distance, I swore, would never weaken us.

 

My sisters all now have lives bigger.

Bigger than before.

We are all out there, playing house realtime.

And days like today....

when we all are gathered in one place?

These are the days when time stops.

It just stands still, for a bit.

 

I watch my oldest baby playing with my sister's oldest baby.

Running around, tossing leaves.  Like we used to.

I watch my dad ~ the world's best grandfather.

Running and chasing and making fun.

I cherish how my sisters have chosen the most wonderful men to add to this family.

The loves, it just multiplies here.

Family just gets richer with time.

 

My babiest sister ~ is expecting her first baby.

When she told me,

I screamed right into the phone.

I am sorry, niece or nephew, for the fact that your momma will be deaf on one side.

But I couldn't help myself.

 

The hardest part of loving all these,

is saying goodbye,

until we meet again.

It's funny how souls who lived within the same walls for years,

suddenly find themselves saying,
"See you in four or five weeks!"

And it becomes normal.

 

Yes, the drive away from the day, from the leaf tossing and the giggles

and the delight....

that is always hardest.