I realized this week how I sometimes take my family for granted. This isn't something that happens on purpose but more because of location. I live 3.5 hours away from my hometown where one sister and my parents still live. 2 sisters (one married with kids) lives another 3.5 hours away from there and my baby sister lives a good 20+ hours away on the east coast.
So being so far away, its hard to always stay in contact with one another. We all get busy in our daily lives with school, work, and living, that it can be hard to stay in contact and to know what is going on in each others lives. Spending so much time with my family reminded me of how much fun my sisters and I had growing up. We were very blessed with a great childhood. Our parents love us and would always do anything for us. They demonstrated to me the type of parents I hope that Tom and I can be one day. I want to always be willing to put the needs and wants of my children over my own. Something that I am sure after living alone for a LONG time will be a change even in marrying Tom and moving in together. But something I am certain I will do.
My sisters and I are also blessed to be more than just sisters, we truly are all friends. Whenever I talk to people about having 4 sisters they are always surprised to hear that we are all best friends and that we are so close. So many people do not have the same relationship with their siblings as we do and for that I am grateful. True at times we still do get on each others nerves - we know what buttons to push to set each other off - that comes from growing up together! But in the end I know that each and everyone of us would drive, fly, swim, run, walk, sky dive (even you Krista), if any of us needed them to.
As much as this week has made me miss being able to spend time with my family more often than once every month or two, it has also helped in continuing another realization.
My family does not live near me - this is a fact. But I am very blessed to have family where I live. To start off with, I have Tom's family who has been nothing but amazing and welcoming to me since Tom and I began dating and then when I moved here. I am a shy person so I know it has been hard for more than just me. But in the past months as I have been planning our wedding and realizing I would like my family to be closer, I have come to recognize that Tom's family is my family and that I need to 'accept' that (for lack of words right now in explaining what I mean - accept is not at all the word I am looking for but a good stand in). I need to, I guess in some ways, let them be my family.
I am also blessed with great friends here. Friends who are willing to get together for no reason, to hang out, who leave work when I need them and drive me half way home after the death of my grandfather. Friends who have made adjusting to life in London so much easier. Friends who, when I thought about applying for the job closer to home, I couldn't imagine leaving.
All in all this weekend has made me realize how blessed I am!
I agree it is incredibly easy to take our families for granted when our own lives get busy. I feel like we never really realize how much we value someone until we loose them.
ReplyDeleteThis is a poem that I wrote awhile back when I was reflecting on how easy it is to take our friends and families for granted.
A Dash Between the Lines
If I knew it would be the last time
That I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more.
If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute
to stop and say "I love you,"
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.
If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day.
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.
For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything just right.
There will always be another day
to say "I love you,"
And certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do?"
But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved ones tight.
So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,
That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today,
and whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear
Take time to say "I'm sorry,"
"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today.
"The first thing that a person finds in life and the last to which he holds out his hand, and the most precious that he possess, even if he does not realize it, is family life."
ReplyDelete- Blessed Adolph Kolping