SIblings, Flowers, Gardens, Road Trips

A couple of weeks ago, defying all the careful, methodical, and cautious aspects of my temperament I hopped in the car with Judah and my sister Anna to make the 8 hour road trip to Spokane. I had felt entirely torn about the whole thing, because Judah had been sick with the flu, Liliana currently had it, money was short, and Joe was busy with work. It just felt like the wrong time, but then is there ever a right time to put life on hold?

It strikes me that perhaps that is what makes these sorts of adventures so wonderful. Because we have intentionally put life on hold we can be truly in the moment while real life outside of our happy bubble spins, waiting for us to enter back in (maybe a little dizzy from the re-entry).

We met my sisters Jocelyn and Eve, and Eve's babe Sophia for a simple happy weekend of sistering....slow mornings over coffee in pyjamas, walks, dark chocolate, vino, sappy movies, face masks. FUN!

"Sisters are different flowers from the same garden."

This anonymous and slightly cheesy quote kept bouncing around in my head as we spent the weekend together. We are so similar, and we are so different. Our differences help us balance each other out, give objective perspective, supply support and encouragement. Our similarities as sisters mean that we know each other in a unique way, different than anyone else (even a spouse!) could. We just get it - even when we don't quite understand why someone behaves with their special little neuroses (kidding not kidding), we still get them and oh how we still love them to the moon and back.

I want to thank my parents over and over for having a big family. Siblings are such a gift!!!  Here I am though, in the early stages of a young family and I see that they are also hard work! To be open to new life, aware of how it changes everything in these tunnel years, is admittedly frightening.

A new baby means new routines (or lack there-of), new physical/mental/emotional struggles, new expenses, new challenges, new behaviors, new fears for the future. It means more humility, more mess, more poop, more mouths, more exhaustion, more insecurity. YET the new JOY outweighs anything else. The new HOPE for this little person's life is palpable. The inexplicable LOVE AND INCREASE OF SPACE IN OUR HEARTS drowns out any of the other challenges.  The gift of a sibling to siblings is immeasurable and irreplaceable. And, as the siblings grow and blossom into adulthood, the friendships cannot be compared to anything else. Not to mention, who doesn't love their very own cheer leading squad as they navigate these murky waters of young adulthood?

So, here is to you - Jocelyn, Eve, Luke, Vincent, and Anna. Your lives are gifts, I'm so glad you exist. Thank you for being uniquely you in our family. I love you!

XOXO