let my family know how much i love them

I can’t believe that my little nephew is nine months old and right on the verge of walking alone. He is my little squeaker-boy and we get together and make as much noise as humanly possible. We squeal and we laugh and we get into things. I love him to pieces!! My sister’s always sending pictures of him too – he’s such a boy!

I need to think up something nice to do for my brother and his wife. I feel like I’ve been neglecting them for a while and I want to do something nice (and inexpensive) for them just to show I love them. Ideas would be welcomed as I mull this over in my mind for a while.

“Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.” ~Edna Buchanan

JC has been having an awful time of it lately. His unit in the Reserves is piling him up with work, he’s swamped at the office, he just got a new boss who is somewhat demanding, he’s got various and sundry relationship issues. He’s just really having a time!

So I finally decided to tap into a little cache of money I’ve been hanging on to for a rainy day, and do something nice for him. He now has a deep tissue massage ready for his taking whenever he decides to make the appointment. He’s constantly going out of his way for people; I figured it was time someone pampered him a bit.

He’s such a good man.

Airline Ticket to DFW Airport: $314.59
Taxi Ride from DFW to Joe T. Garcia’s: $70.00

Seeing the surprise on Mom’s face as her daughter from NY walked into her birthday dinner in Texas: Priceless

After realizing that it really was me, Mom was absolutely glowing. It wasn’t until about two hours later that she shook her head and said, “It’s finally starting to sink in that you’re really here.”

We had a wonderful time the entire weekend. We galavanted around and got french pedicures and ate at all the best restraunts and went shopping in Dallas and had lots of Starbucks. We hung out with her friends from the chruch down there, we watched movies, we drove around looking at oil derricks, we talked and talked and talked. It was probably the most wonderful time I have ever had with my mother. We absolutely had a blast!

About the Starbucks . . . it occurs to me that we always tend to make lots of trips to Starbucks whenever we’re together. It’s like the honorary member of our Mother-Daughter duo.

She sent me a note in the mail after I got back, telling me what a wonderful time she had. She’s the greatest! I had hoped to make this an experience she would remember forever, and to build memories we would take to our graves – and that’s exactly what happened.

In fact, I’m about to call her as soon as I get done posting this and tell her. She’s the best.

My dad and I are having the time of our life planning this trip of mine. Mom actually mentioned to Dad the other day that they should invite me down to spend a little while with them soon.

We’ve picked the restaurant we’re going to meet at, we’re talking nearly every day on the phone, Dad’s just like a kid planning a Christmas surprise (‘course, so am I)!! We’re having a blast. I can’t wait to see them, after what we’ve been through recently. They are so wonderful.

Funny thing: I’ve been so busy trying to let my family know I love them that I forgot to let them love me. Love is a funny thing. You can give it and give it and give it, but if you don’t allow yourself to receive it, you wind up dry and hurting. If we’re not careful, that drought will allow us to be exploited by people offering love but giving something quite different.

We take the cares of the world on our shoulders and refuse to allow the people nearest us – our family, our friends, our church – to help carry the load. They are, after all, the very people we’re trying to help. So when perceived help comes from an outside source, we welcome it with open arms and fall onto this new support system of one. But that’s so dangerous. Allow your family to love you. Allow your friends to help you. Don’t allow anything, no matter how sweet it seems, to separate you from the people who really love you: who have been there for you through thick and thin.

You don’t always have to be the strong one. And if you feel like you’re always the strong one, look around; those people that you’re always strong for – they love you. Let them be your support once in a while. Really think about it and ask yourself this question: Am I being strong to help them, or because I think I’m capable of more than they?

Often, those of us who are always giving support and strength do so because somewhere subconciously, deep down inside, we want to think we’re better than the rest. Don’t let pride isolate you. There’s an Italian Proverb that says, “At the end of the game, pawns and kings go back into the same box.” It’s true. You don’t have to hold yourself aloof. Get in there. Let them love you. They’re dying to love you. I implore you: allow yourself to receive love. You need it, you deserve it, and you’ll thank me.

So I was looking at the confirmation for my flight to TX to visit Mom on her birthday and I thought, That’s certainly the most expensive birthay present I’ve ever bought anyone in my entire life!!

I’m SO excited, though! Mom has NO idea that I’m coming down. Dad has that day off work, so he thinks he’s going to be able to come pick me up at the airport. I’m trying, wiht all my powers of persuasion and daughterly weaseling, to talk him into taking her to a fancy restaurant and letting me get a taxi there and come in and surprise her.

I just think that would be fabulous! I’d love to make it one of those things she’ll remember forever.

My sister recently had a beautiful baby boy. Mom was up for the month preceding and week following his birth, and she saw to it that everything was taken care of and dinners were cooked and the house was cleaned and whatnot. After she went back to Texas, I came over every couple days and did whatever I could to make things easier for my sister and her husband, and this included fixing dinner a couple nights.

Well, since then, they call me up about once a week and say, “Um, Fluff, do you think you could come over and make some of that amazing salmon you cook?” or “Hey, we bought some Tilapia and you’re better at cooking fish than we are, so could if you wanted to come over for a while…” or “Why don’t you come by tonight and hang out? We’re gonna order pizza.”

Last week, I was supposed to go over on Tuesday, but it had rained all day and temps were expected to drop below 20 during the evening. I didn’t want to be out on the icy roads, so I called and told them I’d come over another night. Couple minutes later, my bro-in-law called and said, “You know, you could just come over and spend the night. Rachel’s really bummed she won’t get to hang out with you.”

I guess what I’m saying here is that I love that they want to spend time with me. I love my sister; I love her husband; I love my nephew. It makes me feel so good that I can help them out and fix dinner and just come over and make them laugh.

Mom’s birthday is March 8^th, and I’ve purchased a ticket to fly down to Texas and surprise her. Dad is going to arrange to either 1) get off work early and come to the airport to pick me up so I’ll be with him when he gets home from work or 2) take Mom out to a fancy restraunt for her birthday and I’ll have caught a taxi there from the airport and will be waiting when they arrive. I’ll be staying there the rest of the weekend and flying back on Monday – I can’t wait! Whenever I go visit them, the three of us always have a wonderful time.

Any ideas as to which one we should do? I know what I’d prefer to go with, but any ideas will be welcome (besides, if everyone agrees with me, I can use the statistics to convince Dad I’m right). :)

I’ve been having the most wonderful time hanging out with my parents lately. My mom is here for a couple months b/c my sister is having a baby and mom’s here to help. Dad had a couple weeks off work between assignments and I was able to hang out with just Mom and Dad a couple times. We had a great time – the best since lots of strange-ness went down a couple years ago.

I did some really stupid stuff and treated them really badly some time ago. I basically cut them off through my actions and did serious damage to our relationship. I broke their trust and just basically behaved in a hard-headed, stubborn, disrespectful manner for something like three years straight. Yes, argueably, this is a normal part of the maturing process and as a young person grows into adulthood there is a natural shift in the relationship with their parents. I pretty significantly pushed the usual limits on this and have been regretting it for a long, long time.

Thankfully, though, love is an amazing healer.

We laughed and carried on, and though it wasn’t like old times, I wouldn’t expect it to be. It’s not old times; it’s right now.

And right now my parents and I are in a good place.