What Matters

I was planning on writing about my vacation to New Jersey and New York that was wonderful. New York City is always exciting especially when one gets to go to a musical.  We saw a remake of "Kiss Me Kate".  As expected, it was great.  The way these actors can sing and dance (at the same time, yet!) is astounding. And the city always fascinates.  Even though I grew up nearby just across the Hudson River in N.J.; visiting Manhattan is always a treat.

However, my takeaway from this vacation was how much I enjoy being with the people I care about. This is more important than sightseeing, or visiting museums, landmarks, etc.  This is not surprising as I always appreciate my friends and family but living clear across the country makes my time with them even more precious.

We were there for a week and stayed with my husband's younger sister, Terry, in the house they all grew up in. Terry is 6 years younger than Bill and me and I adore her.  She is one of the kindest, most loving and generous people I know. It's so easy and relaxing staying with her.  Bill's younger brother lives a few blocks away and we saw him several times and he is a sweet man, a loving father, grandfather and uncle.  His older sister, Rosemary lives in the next town, where I grew up and we spent quite a bit of time with her. She and her husband generously threw a party for us and we were able to spend time with nieces, their husbands and many great nieces and nephews.  We had a wonderful time visiting and hearing the latest news. 

My sister and my nephew and his wife and children live in nearby New York state - about 45 minutes away.  We spent the afternoon with them dining at a lovely restaurant on the Hudson River and catching up on the latest.  My nephew and his wife were expecting their third child and in fact - she gave birth a few days ago to a girl - her other two being boys.

As I mentioned in previous posts, Bill and I were high school sweethearts and dated for over three years.  We parted and went on to marry others and have children, divorce and as fate would have it - came back together 50 years later and are now married.

That, of course means, his siblings were in my life way back then and to have them once again in my life is a joy.  I loved them 50 years ago and I love and appreciate them even more now. We have a connection that runs deep and we have a ball reminiscing about our times at the beach and other adventures we had as teens.

We also spent time with friends and every minute with them was a blast.

Of course, we all have traveled diverse roads and our life experiences have shaped who we are today and I'm sure we have many differences yet we have a bond that blessedly makes our time together lovely and loving.

Dear friends and family - that's what makes life a delight!

xo