I got to have lunch with my sister, my brother-in-law, my niece, my nephew, my brother-in-law's employee (I have no idea what her title is) and my oh, so famous and fabulous grandmother. It was nice just to sit and chat over some yummy food. I love them all. :)
(Oh, and my grandmother? She's better than your grandmother and I'd dare you to try to prove me wrong. I hope I can be just like her when I am 90. That's right, she'll be The big 9-0 in August on her birthday. I love her. Love.Love.Love.Love her.She deserves a post all her own.)
Then, to make a long story short, I kept Nicholas with me after lunch and we eventually landed back at my apartment. As we were driving back though, I was listening to my favorite Christian radio station in the area and smiled listening to Nicholas sing the songs that were on the radio...I think it was actually a commercial at the time I realized he was singing, but I loved hearing him sing the truths that they play on there.,..even in little snip-its. Sweet, sweet music, his little voice is, sweet, sweet music. He and Lauren both are growing up so fast I love spending time with them. Right now, Nicholas starts almost every sentence he is speaking to me with "KK, um,...." or asks "Right, KK?" after he says something. I love this. I hope he's still saying it when he's 18 and headed to college. Lauren is almost as tall as me, but she will always be the sweet bundle I held and loved to rock while telling her that boys are crazy and I'll always be willing to listen to her stories. She doesn't remember that, but I sure do. Oh, and that I was going to call her Kenzie...but that didn't last...the listening part will though. :)
While on the way back, I got the grand idea of having some friends over for dinner so I texted a few of them to see if they'd be interested in a little family dinner. Around 6:30, some of my favorites showed up at my door and we got to hang out and spend time together for the evening. I wish my wallet would let me do that every night and have as many people over as I possibly could. But since I can't, I soak up these opportunties when I can. I love having people over and in my home. I always pray that it would be a place of refuge for people to step into and allow them to walk away from life's crazy for just a few hours. We always laugh and I love having them around.
So here's what I've decided.
Family is what you make it.
I have a lot of different people in my life that act as my family...because that's what I have allowed them to become. Here are 3 of the fabulous families I get to spend my time with...
My "real" family--the ones that I'm tied to by blood--are some of the most amazing people you'll ever meet. I am who I am because of who they helped me become. They are the ones that will always be on my side no matter what. And since there are days I can be extra-extremely ridiculous I am really grateful for this. I could talk about them all day long, but it will all just equal the idea of this: My Family= Extremely awesome.
My school family--the people I work with day in and day out in this crazy world we call education are some of the most caring, loving individuals that I have ever known. I firmly believe that no one will ever really understand what it is like to be a teacher unless you have taught. You may know the lingo, but you'll never know what it is like to shut the door and teach kids 5 days a week for 180 days and be responsible for all we are responsible for...it is just a world unto itself. Having a sweet family of teachers around makes this overwhelming task more than worth it and definitely bearable. I am beyond amazed at the heart that they have and am so fortunate to have them around to learn from.
My friend family--I've talked about them before, but having them all over tonight just reminded me (again.) how blessed I am to have them. They truly do help make crazy days better and make sure I don't take life too seriously. I love them with my whole heart and a little bit more. We've lived a lot of life together and I am excited about what else is to come.
Family is important...whatever that might look like for you...but here's my challenge...make sure to find that group...to find those people who challenge you and are like-minded and will love you for you. But make sure that those people are the kind that will make sure you don't stay where you are...that they are the ones that will challenge you to be better. Those are the people you want to surround youself with...those are the people that make this crazy thing called life a lot more fun.
And then?
Love 'em well.
1 comment:
Love this!
Post a Comment