My cup of Door County Spicy Nutcracker Coffee has warmed my body but isn't doing much to warm my heart. Vacation has come to an end and we will be headed home tonight.
We were blessed to be able to visit with family and we are grateful for a guy who gives of himself and watches over our home and our Springer Spaniel Gibbs. We are able to leave and travel worry free. There is a Christmas blessing, if there ever was one.
The weather here in Florida just warmed up yesterday and now it is time to go. The family dinner and gift exchange was completed and the food was great. The gifts are always nice, but having to leave the family now is bittersweet. It's always nice to return home, and get back to a normal routine, but for me returning home always leaves me feeling like something is missing. I figured out what it is. I leave a piece of my heart here every time. The family wasn't complete this year. Due to school and work two of the members could not be with us. That's understandable and is to be expected as families age. It's bound to happen. There will always be the dynamics of change. Family dinners are great, but not as good as a cup of coffee or a soda, with a chat and time spent together. If we lived closer the Sunday afternoon dinners would be more often. There would be more banter as to which football team was better or fun arguments over who's team was the more terrible as is the case this year. Rene's golf game might improve and our son in law might not lose as many balls. But that's not the case, thus the visits are awesome but they always dissect a piece of me when I leave. Who knows what next year will bring, or if our trip will happen. I have already started planning it but that is pretty vain of me. So my advice to all is this. Take what God gives you and make the best of it. Enjoy what you have been given and do your best to partake. Let the little things stay little. I injured my foot this week and on some days moving around was a chore, but no matter what, I was going to do my best to not let it ruin my time. Our flights were abominable, our rental car broke, the company of course says it is our fault, two shirts ripped on me, I forgot to put the radishes on the table and some of my baked buns went flat. The weather in Florida was cold and my heavier coat is in my truck at the airport in Milwaukee. I had thought about stopping the trip before leaving Milwaukee more than twice. But ask me today and tomorrow if I would do it again, and the answer would be yes. Why? Because I love my family and they love us. And that's just what families do.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Writing tomorrow from Milwaukee. Hopefully!
Marty
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