Of all the families on this planet, we are a poster child for the concept that hearts have enough room to love any and every body! It's just that lately...things weren't all lemon drops and gum drops. We've been doing a lot of treading of water in the pool of life these days! The deaths of siblings, the battles with cancer, aging parents, and emotionally labile emerging teens mixed in with a dose of changing schools, operations, medical bills, and job stresses have not been the ideal recipe for heart health. Not talking about the physical health of our hearts but the spiritual, metaphysical, and emotional health of our hearts. The adage is that time is a great healer. To be sure the tincture of time has done us measurable good but it's the people...the reconnecting with our loved ones that has brought the most tangible improvements. Like the balm of turkey and talking.....
that one gets at Thanksgiving dinner with the family!
Where baby brothers bring smiles to your Mom's face by just being there....
and watching the youngest members strive to prove their importance to the celebration can't help but lift ones spirits!
This blog has been covering, ad nauseum, an exciting event that has mixed effects on one's heart health. One can never have too many celebrations of the entrance of a child into the teen years...can you??? Shortly after returning from the MAIN event...i.e. THE cruise...and only the day after Thanksgiving, Mari had a bunch of her girl friends accompany her to shoot it out.....
Nothing like a bunch of girls packing laser heat to get the heart pumping!!!
Running, screaming, and laughing in the dark can be added to the list of things that does wonders for a mother's heart. Not that I even thought of embarrassing her by joining in the event....I'm am a little 'cool' as far as Mom's go and know 'my place' is to be quietly in the background!!
It is the joy in witnessing the child that you worry constantly about as she graciously welcomed her guests and the obvious regard they have for her.
It is the happiness to know that this moment in her life that she wanted to 'go good' went SPECTACULAR! The screams and laughter were the very proof of the GREAT time had by all.
The signs that you're moving back towards calmer waters are there when you know what you're looking for....
like the GENUINE smiles that are flashed towards the camera a little more frequently than in the past couple of months!
And watching the cousins as they progress into adulthood just a little way ahead of Mari acting as beacons to lead her towards a happy and confident place in her life!
Sharing the trials and tribulations [like braces!!] that come with this age making it a less gawky and lonely time.
The 'puppy pile' after a long day of house cleaning in preparation for yet another holiday weekend event not only brought us comfort but fond memories. Those of Mari and Alyssa trying to set the self-timer on the camera and racing back to their spot in the pile before the flash went off. Gales of laughter massaging the vestiges of tension in the heart until it could not be any more relaxed!!! Just in time for the ultimate spa treatment for hearts.....
The first of what NEEDS to be many more 'Cousin Chats'!!! Where cousins of all ages...
gathered to practice the simple act of talking!
Okay, we did a bit of eating too!
Time for the women of every branch of the family of every age to reinforce the bonds.
To share family histories and consult the genealogy research...
and go through boxes of family pictures reminiscing or turning to the senior members for identification of the subjects. Finding portraits long thought lost and snap shots well remembered. Laughing and crying at the memories. Letting our hearts grow a size or two...and in my case THREE!
There will be times in my life when I'm thrown back in the deep end of the pool of life but I know how to tread water. More importantly I KNOW the people in my life won't be too far away to throw a life line my way! I just hope I can show my daughters that I'm right there ready with all the floaties they could ever hope to need when they are in the deep water. For right now, I'm going to rest my heart....it has another growth spurt on the horizon...Julia's Golden Birthday is racing towards us!!!!
That was a really touching down to earth, this is life post. I loved it!
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful post. I have tears in my eyes, reading it. crying about Mari's birthday party with girlfriends, and absolutely positively knowing how you must have been feeling -- standing there in the background, trying to be invisible for her, and yet beeming with pride, and hoping too that the event.. everything ... goes as she hopes, because as we mom's know, our daughter's happiness is OUR happiness. it's what matters. And both Mari and Julia will know exactly how to do the cousin talk for years and years to come, because they've grown up seeing their momma and aunts and grandma do it! you've been teaching them so well in how to do family, by your actions!
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