We recently returned from a trip to the Midwest to visit my husband’s family for the Thanksgiving holiday. It was the first time his entire family was able to be together in several years because, as is typical of most American families these days, they are spread out in different areas of the country. This was a particularly meaningful trip, not just because everyone was together, but because my father in law is dealing with a recurring bout of cancer which is always a concern and full of unknowns.
I always enjoy being with my husband’s family. They are kind people and they have made me one of them. It amazes me the way, despite their differences, they are able to come together and love one another and enjoy each other without drama and without tension. It speaks to the love and respect they have for one another that runs deeper than any petty grievances they may have sometimes experienced in the past.
The time together, this visit especially, was filled with a quiet but pervasive sense of gratitude for the precious limits of time. There was a joy to this visit that was silently accompanied by an unspoken understanding that these gatherings are to be treasured because they are few and far between and no one knows how many more there might be. Not a moment was taken for granted as laughter filled the air.
Visits like these, ones filled with the ease of uncomplicated connection, are cherished times because there is an implied understanding that they do not come often enough and the realities of time and distance create gaps and holes that would otherwise not be there, as nieces, nephews and grandchildren grow into adulthood in the blink of an eye.
The heartache that the distance creates is certainly palpable when these gatherings come to a close. The goodbyes linger. The laughter halts. The cars get packed and the traveling begins again. But, the love of this family far outweighs any physical distance that separates them, as the bonds are unbreakable. Though it generally remains unspoken, the love these people have for one another is fierce, abiding and despite the heartache of distance, these bonds will always withstand the tests of time…no matter what happens next and until we meet again.
Family gatherings are precious times. I liked the love this family shares, and I am truly sorry your father-in-law is battling cancer.
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Beautifully written. I am so glad you had such a good visit. Those memories will be something you and your husband and other members of the family will cherish always.
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I’m sorry to hear about your father in law and family going through this very hard time.Sounds like a nice family because of the parents.My mother in law was in the hospital with stage 4 lung cancer.I was 21 at the time and only visited before the hospital a few times because of the distance and I can’t do the altitude in the mountains.I go to the hospital to be there for my husband of course I didn’t want to go,she said I just went to watch her die!It has been over 25 years now and I blocked it out of my mind and just thought about it a month or so ago.Anyway,my husband has 2 brothers and 4 sisters and they are all very much like the mother.I sensed it then but it is so much more clear now that I’m a lot olderNow .I think I’d tell her yeah,I don’t have anything better to do.lol
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