Life Enjoyment

Enjoying Life with our Family

 

Eight days with my sister-in-law, her husband and five sons, taught me a lot!   Among all the new reasons i need to be patient, I mainly relearned and obtained gratitude for our family!! 

We stayed an extra day than we had planned because we were having such a great time!  In my head, I imagine myself being the greatest aunt who is sweet and thoughtful, a pen pal, game maker, gift-giver, etc., etc.,, yet it remains a goal and not an action taken.  After 9 months of husband and wife solitude on a boat, I put my goals into action and i vowed to be that awesome aunt I have set in store for myself!  My nephews were so receptive! They were sweet, complimentary, and gave constant hugs, validating my visit and my goal!  I am also aunt to twin babies, so baby-hunger may have planted a seed, but I also feel like bawling in panic at the vision of my own children, right now!  Mixed, mixed.  

I am again grateful for a family in which I feel no pressure to change any part of my life for their account.  I feel like I am a part of my family! A good part! Sometimes a part who is bossy and opinionated, and on this trip, a part of the family that sought refuge in the bathroom with an iPhone to chill out because I am used to more "me" time than is probably normal in most people's lives!  Thanks Ship Solitude..

While we were visiting, we went out to super yummy meals: sushi, Mexican, pizza, froyo, brunch, bakeries and a bee farm! We had parties: like a Salmon bake and a Tri-Tip BBQ with Crab, then crab cake leftovers- not to be forgotten!!

I bounced on the trampoline with babies, Ivan got decked out in Camo for a backyard Nerf gun battle, and shopped sister style at our favorites: TJ Maxx and Target! (don't judge)

On Day 2 of our journey, right before we got to our family's, I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and accomplishment! I remembered Ivan and I on the pool deck of our cruise ship ordering lunch and having Pool Deck Planning Parties, where we'd eat our burgers and caprese salad and hopefully talk about our next life adventure!  How much we wanted to see our family was unbearable and over several lunches, we came up with the perfect road trip in which we could see all our family and friends before we move back to New York! 

One thing you have to know about us, is that our plans are always changing, our travel dates, our daytime jobs, our hobbies, our short term goals -it's a good thing we have our church to keep us on path to a long term- everything else is different each day! Even where we'd live!!  So the fact that this road trip, we were just beginning, was actually happening, was a miracle, actually! A miracle people!!!

Leaving Seattle, became Day 10! 9 more to go...