A Bit Of News
I apologize for being absent here for the past couple weeks. The truth is, I've been sitting on some news, and its been occupying every spare inch of space in my excited, scared, happy, nervous, superstitious brain. The news is:
I apologize for being absent here for the past couple weeks. The truth is, I've been sitting on some news, and its been occupying every spare inch of space in my excited, scared, happy, nervous, superstitious brain. The news is:
Sorry I've been absent here... its been a very full week and I've found myself unable to carve out half an hour at the computer... nor have I had the creative energy to write something worthy of your reading time.
But I do want to take a moment to welcome our little nephew, Lucas, who is all of FOUR DAYS old today. We are going to meet him this weekend, and I absolutely can't wait. Its so amazing what the arrival of a new soul does to a family. We have all been eagerly anticipating his arrival, wondering about his personality and how he will look and whether he will be very different from his sister, and which parent he will take after more. There has been such an outpouring of love as grandparents and aunts and uncles (and of course his parents) all celebrate the fact that he is finally here, and we are so grateful that he arrived healthy and safe and sound.
What's been doubly amazing to me is to think that we all came into this world this way... with arms and hearts open and waiting to receive us. The birth of a baby... such a miracle, in so many ways.
Dear Lucas,
Welcome!!! I can't hardly wait to get to know you!!
Love,
Your Auntie Marie
For more Love Thursday, click here.
With Father's Day coming up this weekend (that's right! Get those cards in the mail!), I decided nothing could be a more appropriate topic for a Love Thursday post.
Let me tell you about my Dad. He's stubborn. He's really smart. He has a big laugh and a really nice singing voice. Sometimes, he's very cranky. He's often sentimental. He's always principled. He gets outraged when he sees something he thinks isn't right, and he takes action to fix it.
I am always cognizant of how much of my personality is based on my relationship with my father, and on his example. Let me tell you a few stories to illustrate. When I was a little girl, my Dad was this all-powerful authority figure who worked all week, but always had time for play on the weekends. In the summers, he would join my mom and brothers and me at the pool on the weekends, and let us climb all over him. My favorite game was to swim up behind him and catch his hands. He would submerge himself underwater, holding my hands so that I could scramble onto his shoulders; then he would jump back up out of the water, launching me across the pool into the deep end. I can so intensely remember the feeling of his hot skin, slimy with sunscreen, my feet sliding around on his shoulders, and sailing airborne, clear across the pool, in complete and utter freedom. I learned that hard work creates security, but that the best part of the week is when you get to splash around and laugh with the ones you love the most. And his strong shoulders supported me in a million other ways as I grew up.
Now I'm too big to play that game. But I would if I still could. :)
Let me tell you another story. When I signed up for Little League for the first time, the school had created a baseball team for the boys, and a softball team for the girls. I think I was about 6 years old at the time. When my father learned of this situation, he very loudly insisted that I play on the team with the boys. HIS girl was taller than most of those little runts, could run faster, and was NOT going to be discriminated against. While it was true that I was taller and faster than most kids my age, it also turns out that I sucked at baseball; but for the rest of my life, I felt entitled to play with the boys.
That may have caused some problems for him later, when I got to be a teen-ager. I inherited his stubborn streak and, having been told at a young age that I could do anything I put my mind to, put that into quite literal practice as a young adult.
One more story. After I graduated from college, I didn't live in the same state as my parents for 15 years. I wasn't even within driving distance for half of those years. So we saw each other rarely, maybe twice a year. Whenever we did, Dad would well up with tears, pinch my cheek, and envelop me in a bear hug. In 2008, my parents moved to Virginia, and we're now only about a 45-minute drive from each other. We now see each other every couple weeks. And every time, my Dad wells up a little bit, pinches my cheek and envelops me in a big bear hug.
Dad, you couldn't have done a better job. I love you.
Happy Love Thursday. For the original Love Thursday post, clicke here.
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