Family

I wanted to take a moment and post about one of the highlights of being home in America. One of the major reasons that I came home this year was to spend time with my family. Granted I never get as much time as I would like with them, but I am enjoying the time we have together. Living away from them for four years really helps you to appreciate what you have. (Having your father almost die the first year you were gone, that also helps put things in perspective.)

This past weekend my brother and I drove to Charlotte, NC to visit some of our cousins. We are pretty close to these particular cousins. The last time all four of us were together was twelve years ago when we went to visit them in college. Since then we've visited both of the twins, but the four of us haven't been together in a long time. We drove down Sunday after church and came back that night. We spent 7 hours driving so we could hang out for 4 hours. It was totally worth it. I know some people think that's crazy, but I learned a long time ago, that some time spent together is better than no time.

We moved around a lot when I was younger. I made it a priority to keep in touch with people. I don't always succeed, but I try. When we went on vacation when I was younger, almost always part of that vacation included a stop to visit family who lived further away from us.

One of the cool things about family is that they don't have to be blood to be family. Though I have no sisters by blood, I feel that I have been blessing with several women in my life who I would count as sisters. Though I do not have any children naturally, I've been richly blessed with students who I love like they were my own.

Sometimes it's hard for me to tell other people that yes I'm in my thirties and I live with my parents. On the other hand, I am so glad that while I've been home this year that we have had all that extra time to spend together. I'm blessed to have one set of grandparents still living. I wish we could do it more, but we try to eat together with my mom's family for every little holiday and birthday. My grandparents are awesome. While I was on my own, I lived next door to them for seven years.

As I realize how quickly my time in America in passing, I'm trying to savor this family time before we separate for eleven months.