the week in joy
I had a good week. But I had a great weekend and I want to tell you about that today.
Saturday was our 12th Family Day (excluding 2020). I wrote about our tradition last year.
So I won’t get into the whole history of Family Day here, but I will tell you about this year’s. My sisters and I have been taking the onus off our parents and taking over the planning, shopping, preparation, etc. and I felt like this year we really pulled off a great party. Everyone we invited came. The weather was cooperative. The food was plentiful, the games fun, the drinks tasty (Tito’s lemonade is not to be missed). We had friends, we had relatives, we had people who started the day off as strangers and immediately became part of our extended family.
My daughter Natalie came in from California. I only see her twice a year now; for Christmas and for Family Day. So it was a complete joy to get to spend time with her and catch up in person. Seeing her and her brother together makes me so happy. There were cousins I hadn’t seen since the last funeral, friends I don’t get to see often enough. We played cornnole and bucketheads, had our annual trivia contest (my team did not win), went swimming, and the millennials did karaoke for our enjoyment (Natalie’s rendition of “Mr. Brightside” was the clear winner, but my son doing “Wonderall” was spectacular). The last straggler left at 11pm, long after my father fell asleep on his recliner.
We are all wiped out, but in the best way. The joy I feel at having brought family together for a laughter filled day is immense and this kind of exhaustion encompasses that joy, so I feel fulfilled and happy instead of worn down. My heart is incredibly full from the last few days of being with family and friends and that will carry me through the rest of the summer. We’ve already started planning next year’s Family Day. It’s August 9th. Come on down.
(I know this is kind of short today, but it contains so much joy!)