Absence makes the heart grow fonder
You never realize how important family is to you until it’s a rare occasion seeing them.
I had the most amazing weekend in Magnolia. For the first time in a long time all of my mother-in-law’s family was in the same place and it was a sight to see.
Her two sisters (one from the Memphis area, one from Maryland) came down to celebrate their father, Derrick’s, belated 85th and their step-mother, Martha’s, belated 78th birthday.
No one said it better than Martha herself when she said, “When Derrick’s three daughters get together, there is nothing but giggling, and laughing and fun.”
She was absolutely right. The whole weekend was nothing but food, laughter and card games (three things we all love).
Because of the distance and occupations, we are rarely all together. In fact, this was the first time I was able to meet Luke’s Uncle Art, after four years of being with Luke. He has not been able to get away from work when Aunt Marla could make it down to Arkansas and I have to say, he reminds me of my husband in so many ways.
He’s intelligent, holding deep conversations with Luke for hours and then turns over and can talk in depth about football.
Gideon got to spend time with his cousins, both of which are quite a bit older then him. Despite the age gap though, these children are so patient and loving. They were gentle with a child half their size and let him play along with them even though he didn’t play the games the “correct” way.
I spent so much time with Luke’s aunts and I connected with both of them in their own unique way.
Aunt Marla is a free spirit. She is unapologeticly herself and is filled with so much love for her family. She is so patient with Gideon – far more patient then I could ever be. She’s always great at inspiring her family to strive for greatness as well as having the perfect thing to say when they are down.
Aunt Misty is the mom of the group. Even though she is the littlest sister, she is the one who would always have a pair of socks in her purse, clean up a mess without batting an eye and can tell when a kid is getting into something without even glancing their way.
Uncle Lee reminds me of my own dad. He is your typical downhome southern man and because of that it’s always nice spending time around him.
Of course I also enjoyed spending time with Papaw Derrick, Memar (Martha), my mother-in-law, Debbie, my sister-in-law, Morgan, Luke and Gideon.
It breaks my heart that we don’t live closer together. We always have a blast together, but absence makes the heart grow fonder and it makes a family reunion all the more sweeter.