A Little Time Up North
My mother-in-law recently turned 80, and yesterday was the day when many of the family got together to celebrate with her. Unfortunately, this meant a trip to northern Wisconsin -- about 800 miles round trip. My wife insisted that all our kids go, so it was like the good old days when we were all together and loaded up the family van.
Strangely enough, things went pretty well. The party was a good time, and the time spent with our adult-ish kids was great. There were some realizations, however. I told my kids that this weekend was important because it was likely the last big celebration that would have my mother-in-law at the center. She is in perpetually poor health and looked quite fragile. It is difficult to imagine her having another milestone birthday.
The trip was also a reminder that our family -- myself, my wife and kids -- have grown older. Two of the kids no longer live at home (although they are close by), and we rarely pack in the van for trips anymore. In life we must roll with the changes and learn to adapt, but there was certainly a feeling of melancholy, remembering those years when the kids were young and every day brought new excitement and challenges.
posted by lightning36 at 9:59 PM
4 Comments:
Grandpa chops in sight.
Geezer status not far behind.
I do not see grandkids in the near future. Some might say I have already achieved geezer status. : o )
nice looking family,sir.it is awesome that yall could make the time to c yr mom in law. long time ago i use to work in home health and it was really sad to c ppl forget or abandon their relatives. sometimes the simple gestures mean a great deal later in life.
The two little ones holding my mother-in-law are my nephews. The three people in the background are the same kids in the bottom picture, but much older. I'd hate to have all three riding on my back now!
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