I'm sooooooooooo happy! Ecstatic! Elated!
I got to spend a weekend with almost all of my kids...the WHOLE weekend, a three day stint.
Poor Shauna, who was a tad irritated because her tick is tocking now, and she again has to be the bridesmaid at someone else's wedding! It's always been a worry of her's...especially watching all of the kids in our small town marry and start their families, while she was still working away at school.
Her college girlfriend has been in the planning of this for 2 years, and even though there is NO WAY Ms Coleman, Attny at Law, should pull herself away from a pending case in D.C....she has to. She had committed to the honor 2 years ago, and she is just one of those people who still believe in commitment.
The wedding is full of activities and away in Springfield, where Gabe and Ally live and attend college. We pack up the pets and head for a long weekend of camping at their place and hopefully stealing any time that shauna has away from her obligations. It would be impossible to try and commute back and forth to our home which is over hours drive away.
My youngest son, Bill, is in Fayetteville, Arkansas, but has obligations of his own. He has to be in Little Rock for some continuing education to keep his license up to date. He is a bail-bondsman there. As much as we are going to miss him, we all understand work.
I'm very proud of Bill. He knows the value of that work, he knows how to save money, and he does the right thing no matter HOW much his mother nags him to do otherwise. It's amusing to me, that he, the baby, seems to be the one MOST independent of me.
I know Bill will attain any goal he sets for himself....he's my one that has just started this journey and has all the opportunites of the world at his feet. It is so much fun to watch him now....it's like watching an eagle take flight.
Gabriel is the first to offer whatever is needed in any situation. He is always the 'go-to guy' for everyone he knows. He makes his friends his family and his family his life.
He opened his home and insisted we stay there, continued to work while we were there, and maintained his life in SPITE of us being there.
That's Gabe...he has the biggest heart of any human on earth, and that heart is so tender, despite the massive soul that surrounds it...So much so, that deep down I know he will make the best daddy in the world.
The weekend was fabulous. Our time was limited but used wisely. We got to reconnect as a family and rekindle all that is that precious bond.
Ally and Shauna got to form some new bonds. They have really never got to spend extended time together and I witnessed my family growing again as they took the first steps towards sisterhood.
That's what I did the whole weekend. I watched my family and tried not to cry. I reflected on them as babies and marveled at the way they have become adults.
That happened one day while I was at work with some kind of magic I had heard about from older adults, but really didn't believe in. They all became adults when I wasn't looking.
I'm home today with just my little one, Molly Kate who is now 7. I thought I had just had her last week, I thought she was my 'empty nest' cure...but she's seven and quickly becoming her own person.
It is rumored that she is different than others her age....but then again, so were Shauna, Gabe, and Bill. They were all 'special' children. I have no doubts that Molly will grow into an amazing adult, as the three prefacing her did.
I don't know what she'll be when she grows up, but I know she will grow up in a large, loud, humorous, loving family....with many to guarantee her happiness and to give her counsel and wings.
I had the best weekend of my life last weekend, sitting in my jammies, in an apartment sated with noise and animals and laughter. We did not sleep. We napped when we needed to, but spent every second we could together.
Watching my family grow and bloom into amazing adults should be cosidered one of the wonders of the world, but instead is it's unsung phenomena...the big secret no one told me about....and surely the greatest miracle I will ever witness.
