On Family…Part 1
Today, my husband and I are preparing for a road trip…. really an extended road trip with a few several-day stops sprinkled in. We leave on Monday morning and we don’t plan to return to our apartment until the first week of January. Initially we were going to spend December through Christmas in Tennessee and the head to Texas before returning to DC. But, two nights ago, my husband got a call from his younger brother. His mom has been diagnosed with cancer and is facing chemo and surgery in the weeks and months ahead. Of course our hearts are saddened at the news, not because we are not people of faith, but because we know that the journey ahead for her may not be the easiest. And, so we will re-order our trip to go to Wisconsin for a week first, to be there with her for the placement of her port. We’ll take some time to be with our family there and to help them prepare for the days ahead. We’ll help clean and reorganize the house. We will do some bulk cooking to make sure that wholesome meals are easily accessible. We’ll make some purchases to help stock the house. We will live more fully into what it means to be family.
From there, we will head to Tennessee to be with my parents for the Christmas holiday and to retrieve our precious 8 year old who has spent the last two weeks visiting his grandparents and loving every moment of it! We’ll stay there almost two weeks. We will sleep in my childhood home and in the bedroom where so many of my fondest childhood memories were made. We’ll walk the land I watched and helped my dad to clear as a little girl. I hope to do some canning with my mom, and to get a good sourdough starter going that will last for generations. I hope to plot out a place to put our first tiny home build and to maybe even prep a few garden beds to be ready for spring planting. I’m planning to take film photos and to develop and scan many of them while I’m there. I want to remember this time of reseting. I’m excited because, over the last several years, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t taken the time to spend intentional time with family. We’ve always been busy with church or work or something in between and, because we’ve always taken for granted that family will “be there,” I think we’ve missed out on some really awesome opportunities to make memories with our families. And so, I’m starting now with excitement and with intention.
I’m beginning already to think about possibly spending the summer in Tennessee and inviting the nieces and nephews from my husband’s side to come and spend it with us so that all of the cousins can be together to play and to get to know each other. Alex isn’t an only child, but, much like me, he’s the only child his age in most of our settings. As homeschoolers, he doesn’t always get to be around kids his age and so, I want him to grow up knowing his cousins and having a strong and keen sense of family. I’m excited about this month. I don’t know that it will all be easy, but I believe that every moment will be worth whatever it takes to get to that moment.
I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions. And to be honest, this isn’t something that has come up just because it’s the end of the year, but as I’ve embraced a lifestyle of slower living, I’ve been able to really grab hold again of those things that are most important to me and that feels really good.
I dedicate this post to my mother-in-love, Shirley Britton. You are one of the strongest people I know. This journey ahead may have its challenges, but know that we, your family, are committed to being right here with you every step of the way. WE LOVE YOU!