Reflections on Family

I’ve been thinking about “family” quilt a lot lately, and the life cycles each of us experience.

Weddings, anniversaries and retirements.  My family has been caught up in all of those things in the last month.

Our family is far flung, with my husband’s family in the Seattle area, my mom in Montana, and my brother in New Hampshire.  I have more cousins than most, and they are all over the place; I can’t even keep track, especially since they are having their own kids now!

My husband and I flew to Seattle to attend the wedding of his youngest daughter a couple of weeks ago.  Even though it was a short trip, I was glad to get back home.  We couldn’t pick up the dogs (my kids!) until late on Sunday and the house sure was quiet without them.

Our wedding anniversary is today.  We spent the weekend together, going out on Saturday night, talking and re-connecting.

I spoke with my mom yesterday afternoon.  She’s getting ready to retire and one of her biggest disappointments is not getting to be near her grandkids, who range in age from 7 to 12.   I suggested that maybe she consider moving near them; they will change drastically over the next 10 years, and this is a time that can’t be lived via video chat.  While there would be some challenges to address, I think she would regret not taking advantage of the opportunity.

Obviously, there has to be personally compelling reason to move across the country than to do it for someone else.  My mother is highly intelligent, well educated, loves gardening and being outside so it’s not like she’s ready to sit back in a rocker waiting for someone to visit.  I’m hoping she would write the novel she’s always wanted to write, incorporating the local history into that story or become a visiting professor in a local college.

She was concerned that I not feel left behind.  I know my mother cares about me, but re-connecting with her grandkids is something that she needs and wants, and that is most important to me.  As I told her, it’s just as expensive to fly from Montana to Boise as it is from Boise to New Hampshire!  And I am OK with video chats!

We mark milestones with celebration and quilts and I’m recognizing those events cycling through my life.  The year is already speeding by, and I want to slow it down to enjoy it to its fullest.