IT'S ALL WORTH IT.....

I loved being with my family again. We have to try harder now to spend time together as a family. Jobs, distance, responsibilities, kids, school, church...so many things make it more difficult to get together. And when we do get together, we all have to try hard not to get on each others nerves, or offend someone. Close quarters and hectic goings on tend to fray our nerves somewhat. Occasionally, I would slip off to another room to steal away a few minutes to myself, only to find someone else beat me there, EVEN THE CHILDREN! I think that was the funniest revelation I've ever had... realizing that kids have to get away from the hubbub, too. I went into one of the kids rooms and found one little one in bed under the covers watching a few minutes of a movie, and another one's legs sticking out from "under" the bed. That kid was playing a handheld game under the bed just for a few minutes of alone time. In another bedroom, an adult was sitting up in bed with eyes closed, and in the basement someone was spending time by himself on the computer. Hectic, yes...but so worth it. I love my family. I stole many glances at everyone this week. I saw funny things, sweet things, thoughtfulness, efforts to overlook petty differences. That's how much we want to be together. And those goodbyes! They say so much! Other people must look at us and say, "that family hugs way to much!" What they don't realize is that we are communicating. We're actually saying things with those hugs. I love you, I miss you, I forgive you, thank you for always being there, thanks for giving me your last dime, thanks for accepting me with all my flaws, thank you for loving me unconditionally, etc. We aren't afraid to say I love you out loud. I'm so glad for that. But, those hugs are priceless, too. They speak volumes. It's all worth it.