Family

I haven't posted lately due to a death in the family. For those of you reading this who may not be family members, my mom died unexpectedly this past friday. Although it was a terrible reason to be together, all of my family came together for the first time in more than a year.Some families get together much more often, but due to where we all live, we're almost never together in one place at one time. One person or another is absent for one reason or another. Distance, work, family obligations, etc. But this time all the brothers, sisters, grandchildren and great grandchildren were together in one house. We had family from as far away as Seattle, myself from Nevada, an aunt and uncle from Houston, and multiple family members from Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Last night, 25+ members of our family (blood related or informally adopted) went out to eat at a local restaurant together. For a small place, they were amazingly organized and the food was great!

In any case, it was nice to spend time with family, remembering things from the past, things that were said and done by Mom. In most of my memories, my mother was pretty strict and serious. It was interesting to hear other people remember times with her. Many of them had different experiences with her that often showed different sides to her than what I knew. For a lot of my life, especially those lovely teenage years, it seemed like my mom and I were constantly butting up one another. Now, of course, I've gotten old enough to realize how much of what she said or did was really for my own good. Hopefully, after all the screw-ups I've had in my life, my mother did end up feeling like I was finally getting my act together. It's about time, now that I'm almost 50, right? *sigh*

At least I had been to visit in August, so I have some recent, good memories. Due to the suddenness of her death, I wasn't able to see her before she passed. Thanks to my sisters and their organization, though, I have some great old photos of my mom and dad.

For the rest of you out there, go visit your families! You never know when your visit might be the last time you see them.

And, once again, forgive any typos. I'm typing on my little notepad again!