The Gift of Family and Our Weekend

There are bursts of lightning outside the window and the rain pounds down as I lie with the baby and soothe her to sleep. Just one room over, delighted bursts of laughter echo down the hall. This is laughter that wells up from my two oldest children, my husband, brother, sister-in-law and mom. The latter three have all traveled the distance of three states to spend the weekend with us. They loaded the car by the light of day and arrived at our doorstep after midnight.

Throughout these past few days, we’ve trekked through the zoo, walked the breadth of our new lot, cheered on the boy at his flag football game, broken bread around numerous tables and browsed a few shops along a quaint and bustling Main Street.

And though their visit brings with it an undeniable mess of luggage and scattered shoes, a disruption to routine and a tangled mess of towels and linens, this blending of three generations beneath one roof also weaves a tapestry of life well lived and people well loved.

There are no airs with these people, this family. No pressure to impress; no fear of judgment. This is the beauty of diversity and the blessing of acceptance … this coming together, this gathering of family.

There are wounds we each carry, present hurts and a specific heartache that grieves the soul. And yet this is the place where those burdens are lifted, the place where heartaches are shouldered. In this coming together,  we come alongside one another, and we share in all the brokenness and the beauty.

These three generations are bound by a bond that cannot be broken. We love despite differences, and we laugh despite our blunders. My children know what this coming together means: they know these people offer arms to soothe and a smile to assure, voices to tell stories and hearts to receive.

This is family. This mixing of opinions and personalities, this taking as we are, this forgiveness of mistakes, this unmerited acceptance.

The girl laughs and begs to “go higher!”, and I listen from the bedroom with a smile. This scene … it’s love without restraint; beauty unmasked.

What does the coming together of family mean to you? How is beauty displayed within the bonds of your own family?

I tapped this entry out several days ago, but I’m just now getting the chance to post it. So although it’s quite late, It was inspired by Lisa-Jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday. Her prompt last week being: Together. I’m also linking up with Mary Beth at Annapolis & Co.