A rare gift

As families grow, siblings and parents often find themselves geographically scattered and seldom finding time to spend time together, with the exception of major life-changing moments like baptisms, weddings and funerals.

The celebration, the reason for this gathering took place yesterday, and yes we did enjoy every moment of fun-filled laughter and celebration. As this day dawned, I took a moment to look out over the living room floor which had been transformed into a kind of tent city, made up of air matresses and sleeping people. Images and reminders of other times when we were much younger popped into my head. Family would visit at our home, and if there was a shortage of actual beds, we would create them with sleeping bags, sponges and yes even an air matress or two. There's something to be said about the fact that when people who really love one another gather, space doesn't matter. There's always room at the table for another chair, there's always room for another person to spend the night, and there's always the understanding that when the morning comes, someone will take care of breakfast.

Today ended up being a bonus - an extra gift that is so rare that it must be cherished. We started out with a schmorgasbord of dishes for breakfast - something for everyone, and yes everyone found a place at the seemingly endless table. The rest of the day was a wonderful mixture of Wimbledon tennis, boat rides, swimming, and other variations of relaxing. You know you've spent a good day with wonderful people when at the end of the day you don't want it ever to end.

Even after most of the crowd had departed, those who remained still found time to enjoy interacting, laughter, conversation and just the right amount of banter. Now, if I can remember how the coffee percolator works, tomorrow might just begin another adventure.