It’s January 8th and we are officially through the holiday season. Tywana and I had a New Year’s Eve party last week. We saw my family the day after Christmas, in Columbus. And yesterday, her family came in for the Kentucky Smiths’ Christmas celebration. Her sister and her boys came in for two nights. Two of her brothers came in yesterday, Saturday.
We had a great time. Tywana and I both love a full house. We never wanted to fill it up with more than two kids, but having family or friends over is something we look forward to. I remember being a little kid and having relatives come over to stay or for holiday celebrations. There’s something special about a room alive with the energy of family and friends. It’s always a little sad when your time together is over and it’s back to the mundane day to day existence.
Kayla picked up her boyfriend in Toledo and brought him down for the last few days of winter break. It’s tough sharing my baby with another man. I knew this day was coming and I was grateful for all the days I had before it did come. The good news is that she spent her entire break here. So, we got to see quite abit of her.
Tywana’s sister and her boys packed up and headed out this morning. Kayla and Gabe just got in the car headed for Toledo. Tywana joked “See you in the Spring.” But, that may not be so much of a joke given that Spring is just a few weeks away. Tywana left to go shopping. So, right now it’s just me and the dogs. We have our Helping Parents Heal meeting this evenining. Then, it’ll be just the two of us again.
It’s great being with family. And, we had good times with friends over the holidays. I think of Shayna constantly when we’re together in situations where she should be. Her cousins that were here this weekend are all in college now. They are 2, 3 and 4 years older than Shayna. They were very close with her. She would have been playing video games with them, probably beating them. She would have been annoying Kayla and Gabe while they were home. She would have loved the board games we played around the kitchen table. I know she was here with us. I wonder what it’s like for her. When I miss her I have to remind myself that she is not missing out on anything. It’s us who are missing out and we have to keep doing these family gatherings and going back to the drudgery of “real life” until the days when we all get to do the ultimate family reunion back in the place where we don’t have to concern ourselves with getting back to earning a living or missing members because they have passed on.
