Celebration of Lives

We got together last weekend for a sweet celebration...

Last weekend before Chris and I went to the Keys, his mom’s side of the family came into town for a little family reunion. His mom is one of four siblings and her dad lives here in Central Florida. Jackie’s mom, who we called Grandmomma, passed away a few months ago, which was just a few months after Grandmomma’s husband, Henry passed away. It had been a hard few months for Jackie and her siblings, and it was nice to all get together afterwards and celebrate Grandmomma’s life together.

Jackie’s dad, who we call Granddaddy Duck, was here to celebrate with us, which was really special. It was the only time I’ve ever been around that entire side of the family at one time in the 25 years Chris and I have been together!

There was golf and tacos and laughing and pool floating. There were grandkids and cousins and aunts and uncles and granddads and grandmommas. There were mornings at the farmers market and evenings at loud restaurants. And it was all just so very lovely and wonderful.

Especially when I tried to get Chris to ride me around the pool like he was a dolphin and I was a mermaid. That was really special for everyone….

Jackie brought our family an envelope of pictures that she had saved from Grandmomma’s house when they cleaned it out after her passing. A lot of them were of relatives and family members throughout Grandmomma’s life. But some of them were from Chris’s childhood as he grew up. These confirmed what I already knew…

How in the whole wide world did Chris and I find each other so dang early in our lives?! I mean, really. What are the odds that these two goofy 90’s kids would end up celebrating life together? How would they end up raising a family and burying loved ones and celebrating birthdays and paying taxes and choosing medical insurance plans and saying things like, “We really needed this rain” to each other?

What lives we all lead. What absolute crazy lives, imaginary friends. And if we are very, very lucky, at the end of them, our families will fly in from all around the country so they can gather together and tell stories about us, and carry pictures of us to restaurants, and miss us.

How lucky are we to love and to have been loved by Lettie.

xoxo