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Five Minute Friday & Celebrate this Week.

[I’ve linked up with Kate Motaung where bloggers share their five minute quick write on a chosen word.  I’ve also linked up with Ruth Ayres where bloggers share something they are celebrating.]

The VISIT

I.
One of my favorite stories is Cynthia Rylant’s The Relatives Came.

II.
It reminds me of my childhood. Every summer we drove from Indiana through Ohio, across Pennsylvania with its Turnpike and tunnels, and on to New Jersey to visit the relatives.

III.
It reminds me of the years when my children were young and we drove from Dallas, Texas, to the panhandle of Oklahoma to visit my husband’s relatives.

IV.
A five minute quick write
00:00.00 Start…

I remember those visits!
We travel all day long
and into the night.
And while we travel along
we looked at strange places
we crossed rivers
and drove through mountains.
We ate up all our snacks
and drank up our water
and still there was further to go.
And when we arrive there
was so much hugging,
so much grinning,
so much talking and laughing.
Voices filled the house all day
and snoring filled it all night.
And during those long, lazy days
of summer, it seemed that
time stood still until
the day when in the morning
darkness we climbed out of bed
And in their pajamas, the relatives hugged us,
long lingering wistful hugs,
already talking about next year.
We crammed our luggage
and ourselves into our car,
and wave goodbye.
Then when we could longer see them,
we settled down in the quiet
of our car for the long, long drive home.

… End 05:31.27

V.
And now, there is a third generation making trips to visit, boarding planes to travel from one continent to another. But this time, I’m not on the traveling side. I’m on the waiting side and the waving goodbye side as each year my son and his family come home for an extended visit.

VI.
And so, this week, I again celebrate family.
… my husband
… our children and their spouses
… our grandchildren
… the joy of being together
… the overflowing love that draws us together
… the deep river of faith that binds us together


All the cousins together on the stairs of the beach house.


Thank you Kate Motaung for hosting.
Read more about Five Minute Friday. #fmfparty

I’m linking up with Ruth Ayres
where bloggers share something
they are celebrating. Thank you Ruth for #Celebratelu.