Surrounded by Family

Last night I attended solo, an annual party, that Edgar and I had always thoroughly enjoyed, ever since we began dating.  I initially intended to decline, but decided to honor our happy times by going.   I'd planned to sit with dear cousins from Edgar's Dad's side of the family, with whom he and I often enjoyed this event.  As fate would dictate, I also had the opportunity to join another set of cousins, from Edgar's Mom's side of the family.  Being flanked by family signaled to me once again that celebrating happy memories is a healthy way to move forward.

Share Your Dreams

We all need someone(s) to help us reach for/achieve/exceed our dreams.  But, our friends/family/coworkers aren't mind readers.  We must share our dreams before these lovely advocates/supporters are able to coalesce their talents for our mutual benefit.

Share your dreams!

Now and Next

Regardless of our passions, age or experience -  we owe it to ourselves, families, communities and careers to consciously consider what we are doing now that excites us, or brings us joy, or makes a difference.  (Ideally these things will converge.) And with those answers, we must consider how we will invest our time, talent and treasure to insure that what we do next will continue to make a difference to us, those we love and those we aspire to help.

3 Generations of Connectedness

Obviously, I believe that everything is connected.  And, reinforcement of that belief continues.  Last night, I called my parents at exactly the same moment they were calling me. And a couple of minutes later, my daughter called to let me know she was safely back from her trip.  Though we all had several hours to check-in, we all chose the same few moments. 

It's fun to reinforce that connectedness is a state of mind, being and love across time zones and generations.

Forever Families

Our remarkable cat, Butterfinger, adopted us, as have all of our beloved felines.  However, Butterfinger demonstrated without question the bonds of forever families.  Butterfinger loved the freedom, flexibility and comfort of an inside/outside cat.  One of his favorite perches was sunning on the top of the Suburban. One carpool morning, unbeknown to anyone, Butterfinger was atop the Suburban.  And equally undetected (we now know), Butterfinger hopped off, 10 blocks from home across one of Houston's busiest streets, Westheimer. 

Seven months after his heart wrenching disappearance, Butterfinger appeared during an afternoon carpool drop-off.  Though many cats have similar appearance, we knew without doubt that we'd been reunited with Butterfinger when he not only came readily, happily to the children, but also streaked straight to his food bowl at home. 

Families may be separated by distance and differences, but as Butterfinger beautifully demonstrated, the love of forever families endures.

House Full of Love and Laughter

Julia's home for the weekend!  Having everyone together brings me great joy.  Adding our children's friends to the mix expands the love and laughter.  With the hectic pace of tightly scheduled daily life, it's fun and relaxing to enjoy the moments without concern for the clock.  Relishing the interactions, I get glimpses of the possibilities of "being" rather than always "doing". 

Multi-Media Families

I attended a presentation last evening, hosted by DePelchin Children Center's Kezia DePelchin Society, "Texting Instead of Talking?" by one of DePelchin's many talented staff members, Jennipher Cole, MA, LPC.  Jennipher highlighted the importance of appropriately combining multiple modes of communicating.

She shared 6 important tips:

• Set the standard - Model for your children what it means to use technology responsibly.
• Establish "no-tech" times - There is no substitute for interpersonal dialogue.
• Use texting for appropriate communications - It is not the tool for serious, formal conversations.
• Emphasize technology's unforgiving nature - Stress the ease with which information can be forwarded to unintended recipients.
• Monitor online, talk offline - If you see something online that worries you, calmly address the issue face-to-face.
• Friend moderately - Never post anything on a site like Facebook that might embarrass your child.

Great Great Family

Yesterday, we had the privilege to attend the baptism of our great great nephew.  This precious child is my sister-in-law's great grandchild.  He is our niece's grandchild and our great nephew's son.  Because of the generational differences in Edgar's family, age means nothing in our family connections.  My sister-in-law is my Dad's age and our niece is a bit older than we are.  Edgar's first cousins are older than my parents.  Their children are our contemporaries.  All said, it doesn't matter which category in which we place our relatives.  We are fortunate to have a great great family.

Changing Traditions

We changed a long-standing tradition of spending Thanksgiving in Arkansas after Julia's freshman year in college.  This was our second year to host my parents for Thanksgiving.  We've discovered that by allowing our traditions to evolve, we capture priceless family time together.

Lovely Surprise

I was so eagerly anticipating Julia's arrival yesterday, but anxious about her arriving at 8:00 p.m. on the busiest air travel day of the year.  Two of her classes were canceled and unbeknownst to us she called Continental and booked the last seat on an earlier flight.  To complete the surprise she called a friend to pick her up at the airport.  When Mama and I came home from a most successful shopping trip, Julia had just arrived.  There's so much to be thankful for including the lovely surprise of several more holiday hours with Julia.

Thanksgiving Has Begun

I love Thanksgiving! I have so much to be thankful for including family, friends, faith, health, career and volunteering.  Though I express gratitude for my blessings every day, it is wonderful to have a holiday focused on thankfulness.

We've been eagerly anticipating a long weekend filled with love and laughter. Mama and Daddy have arrived and Julia comes in this evening.  The fun has already begun.

Incredible Gift!

A dear friend created a fabulous gift that I'll treasure forever.  She saved all the Christmas card photos we'd sent through the years and created a beautiful album.  It brings great joy on many levels.  Friends, family, memories, creativity and thoughtfulness are captured in this unique gift.

Fun and Food with Friends

The most obvious reason to entertain is to spend quality time with family and friends.  We love trying new restaurants, revisiting favorites and hosting dinner parties at home.  It's easy to get into a rut. Mixing familiar and novel places, dishes and participants creates anticipation, excitement and memories. 

A favorite childhood rhyme emphasizing the importance of literal friends can be expanded to include experiences:  "Make new friends and keep the old; some are silver and the others are gold".

Celebrate Everything!

Our family loves to celebrate.  This motivated me to design and create a multi-faceted counted cross stitch project for Julia. 

Under One Roof

It is always exciting when our family is together, even if it is briefly.  Julia's flight arrived in the wee hours just in time to be among the first to wish Edgar a very happy birthday.  Gar's flight is scheduled to depart less than 36 hours later.  The clock is ticking so I'm anxious for everyone to rise and shine.  Short windows of opportunity remind us to seize and treasure special moments.

Games of Life

My family has been playing card games all my life.  We began with Go Fish and War and progressed to  Rook, Hearts and Spades.  When Edgar joined the family, he became part of the ongoing friendly, spirited competitions.  Mama and Edgar perpetually challenge Daddy and me to claim bragging rights for any particular visit.  Selective perception and a bit of psyche colors the reality of winner's records.  It's been fun to have Julia and Gar sub for any given player to keep the team competition alive, but inclusive. 

Just as Edgar and I have forged additional long-standing competitions with friends, it's been fun to see Julia and Gar enthusiastically engage and challenge their friends.

These card games provide fun, laughter, challenge and bragging rights.  Everyone starts the game anticipating victory.  Because it's prime time together, everyone wins the card games of life.

Miles Away and Ever Present

Edgar, Gar and I just made the 550 mile trek to Arkansas for another delightful visit with my parents.  We've made the trip ever so many times.  This time Julia's summer internship in NYC precluded her inclusion in our annual summer excursion.  While on the road, we called to see what she was doing and let her know how much she was missed.  Last night, as I set the table for dinner, I instinctively filled six glasses.  As Mama reminded me that there were only five of us, we called to let her know dinner was ready.  Though she's not enjoying all the love, laughter, sights, sounds and tastes, precious Julia is very much a part of our latest adventure.  She's miles away, but ever present.

Mine!

We are all influenced, positively and negatively by all of our experiences.  We are sometimes discouraged from emphasizing individual priorities v. team accomplishments.  Generally it's appropriate and beneficial to broadly give credit.

Though I enthusiastically credit the others who are involved, I eagerly claim the following as mine:
my name
my family
my reputation
my experience
my offspring
my salvation
my influence
my attitude
my impact