#blessed

without question, hands down, the hardest part of this whole journey has been knowing there’s this distance (countries! oceans!) between us and our family. my biggest worry was that Something Would Happen while we’re gone, and i would feel so helpless and far away.

well, as predicted, and as happens in life, a lot of somethings happened. a handful of little somethings, which made me wish i could jump in the car to meet for a hug, a coffee, some talking, some helping. and then Something Big Happened (a few, actually) which made me wish i could fly and rescue and whisk away to an island paradise with no worries and no sadness. my heart has broken a few times since we’ve been here.  that ocean can, at times, feel like a whole lifetime away.

which is why seeing those beautiful faces from home is such a gift. to squeeze and hug (just one more second, i’ve missed you!), to talk and talk (face to face), seeing expressions and locking arms and knowing with my very own eyes that everyone and everything is ok. it’s so very good.

on a drive home from work back in march i called my sister (jo), and over the course of our 20 minute chat we decided that she and my niece (isabel) should come to germany for easter. the lacter sisters love little more than a spontaneous trip. wanderlust is in our genes. the trip seemed blessed – tickets were the right price, at the right times. frequent flier miles miraculously worked.  there was a pause in my crazy work schedule which fit perfectly in place. serendipity.

and blessed it was.

there was a lot of nothing, but it was beautiful and everything. there was walking to coffee. there was hibernating in bed, watching way too much tv. there were cousins playing and laughing and doing little performances.  there was making dinner, and matching easter dresses, and eating way too many chocolate eggs. there was a day in munich with just jojo and me, where we talked and walked and froze and then talked some more. it was perfect.

and of course, at the end, there was goodbye. but jo and i have perfected the art of pretending it’s not really happening, and doing the breezy “see you later!” to avoid dramatic exits. it’s self preservation, really, as the alternative is simply too, too much for this little heart to take. i know i’ll see her soon. maybe here, maybe in california, maybe somewhere in the middle, maybe somewhere new entirely. an adventure awaits us, of that i’m sure. and in the meantime, i’m just so very thankful to have squeezed and hugged and laughed and seen with my very own eyes that everything is ok.