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| Youngest and the oldest |
Yesterday, after a long red-eye plane trip (with unfortunately a screaming baby in a seat across the aisle), I arrived in Tampa. My sister Norma Jean greeted me and drove me to her home in Zephyrhills. Then we drove south for another almost-hour to Apollo Beach, where my youngest sister Fia and her husband Russ had already arrived days before. Fia's birthday was last week, and mine is next. But we got to get big hugs from all the family members who had already arrived. Fia just turned sixty, and I'll turn eighty.
It's so warm and filled with family, everywhere I look is another person I haven’t talked to, in a long, long time. I try to keep myself in a happy place, but I keep finding feelings and emotions spilling out, and I have to go find someplace where I can just relax. It’s been so long since I have been around others, that are not constant family and friends. I am beginning to feel what getting old it really means. I am having trouble with my eyes, and I realize that my hearing is not very good anymore, and it’s getting to be a bit of a hassle to try to make somebody understand what I’m trying to get across. I am not anxious to uncover emotions that have been dormant for so long, but I realize that this is the time and place to do so.
I am hoping hoping that one of these days before I leave, I will have had a chance to have a heart to heart conversation with each of my siblings. But I am missing my Washington family every day. And I suppose that it won’t get better until I actually get back home.
So, on that ambivalent note, I’m going to try to get all this done, so I can post this and forget about the larger world, and concentrate on my beautiful family that I am a part of.
I realize how much less I can actually hear now that I am around McFamily more after a couple of years. Have a wonderful, wonderful time and I hope there's not a screaming baby on your flight home! Happy Thanksgiving and happy birthday!! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday to your sister and you! Glad to hear your trip is going well... (except for the screaming baby). Enjoy your family... and enjoy the food!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving! Take the time to enjoy every moment!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your time with your family. Sometimes it's hard to get out of the comfort zone we have at home.
ReplyDeleteI am just delighted you made if safely if a bit frazzled by a screaming baby. Hope you all enjoyed a nice food coma and had a lovely Thanksgiving. Take advantage of those moments with your family and absorb as much as you can. I do hope you get that one on one with each sibling.
ReplyDeleteIt can be emotional being around family after some time apart. We get so comfortable in our own lives we don’t even realize it sometimes. I hope the remainder of this visit unfolds the way you would want it to. Enjoy, dear Jan.
ReplyDeleteHappy times to gather with family and friends, but always so comforting to return home. Enjoy what short days you have and hold them close to your heart until the next time. Hugs,
ReplyDeleteJo
A potpourri of emotions, eh? Hopefully, you just have to settle in a bit more.
ReplyDeleteHope the emotions will find a way to help you enjoy. Yes, I agree...there is no place like home!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is truly wonderful to get together with your siblings. Take care and have a great time.
ReplyDeleteSo hard to see so many people at once who you've not seen in decades. I'm glad you find time to be very still and quiet to set your emotions right. It will be physically and emotionally tiring, so don't be too hard on yourself and ask forgiveness of your family for shutting yourself away every now and then to regain your composure. They love you, they will understand.
ReplyDeleteWhat a super photo! I'm sorry to read you're feeling your years so to speak, being out of your element doesn't help. But things sound good so far, I hope the rest of your trip goes smooth!
ReplyDeleteI avoid large groups of people whether family or friends. I can only manage a short time before I disappear off on my own for a while. Enjoy the time with your family as much as you can but don't feel guilty if it becomes too much.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo! Enjoy your family, and savor those true feelings.
ReplyDeleteAwww...DJan... I'm so happy for you that you get to spend this treasured time with your family. But yes, I can definitely relate to the angst of our getting older. We had our first Thanksgiving with the whole family after three years and I found myself really exhausted.
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