A weekend with family
Matt’s parents came to visit this weekend. With a 10-hour trip from their house to ours we don’t get to see them as often as we would like. We didn’t really do anything very exciting, but it was nice just to get to spend time together relaxing, talking, enjoying Little. Little lapped up all of the attention and had fun playing with and performing for people other than Mommy and Daddy. It rained most of the day Saturday, but we were able to get out Sunday afternoon to take a walk and enjoy the beautiful Spring weather. I have truly been blessed with wonderful in-laws.
Other than the first few months after our marriage, Matt and I have not lived closer to our family than a 3-hour drive; this is both good and bad. Early on, it was good for the two of us to have to rely on each other and God. We had to figure out the whole marriage/finances (Matt was in grad school and I was working full-time)/church/friends thing on our own. Through that we built a strong relationship, really enjoyed time together, and learned a lot about God and ourselves. I don’t know how our marriage would be different if we had been in the same city with family, but I’m sure it would be.
Now that Little has come along, it would be nice to live closer to family in some ways. Growing up, I lived within a few miles of both sets of my grandparents and most of my extended family. I spent lots of time with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins; I would love for Little to have the opportunity to have a day-to-day relationship with her extended family as well. It would also be nice to have the close-by babysitting that comes with living near relatives.
For now, we are called to live and work where we are which means being separated from family by many miles. When we have the opportunity to visit with family – either at our house or theirs – we enjoy it while we can; we talk, we laugh, we drink coffee, we linger over meals, we overstimulate Little and she won’t nap (but that’s okay). The physical distance between us makes our gatherings that much sweeter.
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I can relate! Last year, my parents moved to California. We live in Tennessee. We don’t get to see them often, but the visits are so special. Also, I am thankful that we can keep in contact through the computer! What a blessing for families separated by many miles! Glad you had a good visit with your family!
Hi Jana! Glad you had a good weekend with Nana and Pops! I think there are pros and cons to living close to your family or far away…. Love ya’ll and always look forward to our visits together!
We so enjoyed our visit too! Downloaded the video and pictures last night and after watching Little in her jumper, I was ready to get back in the car and make a return trip to kiss her some more. Just so thankful that she has such great parents to take care of her as well as a Heavenly Father who loves her even more than we all do. Give her a great big sloppy Nana kiss!