Family is
different things to different people. Some are close to their families and
others not. For me, my family is my primal pool of being and identity. It’s a
base from which I learned the rules, decided where my boundaries were, and grew
the courage to face not only myself, but to define and tackled the mountains of
the world.
My family,
good, bad, and ugly (and we can be parts of all three), gave me my first
friends and playmates. They were my high adventure buddies and the ones I
shared hopes and dreams with, held talkfests where we solved the world’s
problems—or at least our problems in our small corner.
None of us
have remained static because life isn't It’s an ever-changing process of
growth and change. Still, when we get together, the love and security remains
bedrock. I can just be me without artifice. I love the freedom of that.
I haven’t been
able to visit my family as much as I would like, for various reasons, this
winter. It’s not that I’m a huge distance away—my family all live about fifty
miles from me. Still, I've missed the warmth and laughter. And yes, the gossip.
J
There’s
something special about going home and visiting my mom. Sitting in the kitchen
during the ritual of making the coffee and setting up the tray with my favorite
cookies (my mom feeds everything cookies from critters, kids, and
adults) or snacks. We talk about everything under the sun. As we settle into
comfortable chairs in the living room I love the feeling of dropping my role of
wife and mother and pull on the comfortable role of just being a daughter. We
talk about books and since my mother is a woman of strong faith, we easily
slide into discussions on biblical passages, culture, history we've read. There
is an easy flow of conversation. We don’t miss out on sharing tidbits of
family, kids, our animals, and our mates.
Afterward, I
headed over to visit with my sister and we sat around telling jokes and sharing
fun and goofiness. It was a long day but so much fun and very relaxing. Between
the two visits, I left refreshed and relaxed. I enjoyed the state of being
sister and daughter and putting everything else out of my mind. I was now ready
to pick up the mantle of wife, mother, and job for another week.
- So, how was your weekend. What do you do to relax and renew yourself to face day to day life?
