Thankful Sunday, June 2, 2019

I am thankful for the closeness of family.

When Ward and I finished college, we moved from the Mid Atlantic area to the Gulf Coast where we lived for 15 years. We enjoyed ourselves in New Orleans as young professionals and liked our life in the suburbs of Houston. However, we always missed our families. They were a several-day drive or airplane trip away, and we spent of all our vacation time visiting them.

Yesterday, we had a birthday gathering with Ward's family.
This is the newest member of the family with her grandpa.

 After Wally and Theo came along, we decided it was time to move closer to their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. This was in the days before Facetiming and other such services, and the boys were mixed up about who all of their relatives were.

It was a scary move, because our salaries decreased and our cost of living increased.  But we did it. We moved within driving distance of all of our relatives and within an hour or two of many of them. And we have never regretted it. Our kids got to know their relatives and we have been able to be share weddings, graduations, and birthdays with our families. We have, also, been close when there have been hard times, illness, and deaths. Times when families really need to be together.

 So for the closeness of our families, I am thankful.