Family Ties

Recent events brought me home to where I grew up and where most of my  family still lives.  I left home to join the military and of course fell in love and married while away.  He was from the south and I was from the north; he hated the cold and I hated the heat; however I did learn to enjoy the life we forged together and made the sacrifice to please him and stayed south.  The consequences unfortunately became obvious over the years as my family had children that I saw at Christmas and every other summer.  Everyone grew up and I drifted from their lives as my life became more convoluted!  This past week however I had the great and heartwarming opportunity to spend time with my Great nephew and nephew as they worked on my daughter's car.  It felt wonderful to feel as if no time had ever passed, that they were just so glad to be a part of my life for the week doing something just for me!  The task at hand was quite challenging yet not a single complaint passed by; only joy at sharing the experience and pride at being the one to help their Aunt (Great).  The little ones are always glad to see me because of my jewelry (they love shiny) but the teenage boys are hard to build a relationship with after time and distance goes by.  So for once I was glad my daughter had car problems of such a major magnitude which required their expertise;

and she was willing to come over from Rhode Island for the work.  It seems if we search we can always find a way to bind the family back together.  Because this has become such a process and so many members of the family became involved I now have another sister creating a scrumptious meal for me to take over to feed the crew with; A niece that needs my attention and will get it; and people that would not have been around are now there; just putting in a little here and a little there all to try and fix these many problems my daughter's car has. So sometimes it takes so little to bind the ties that were frayed by time; well that and a little oil and grease on someone else!  Today I feel blessed.

Live with Love and laugh Often