Abundance

Back home again, still unpacking. Everything was special about this vacation but probably the most gratifying part was having all five grandchildren in the same place at the same time for the very first time.

Thank goodness for digital cameras and memory cards. Pictures were taken as memories were made. I pointed and shot over 500 times. Maybe it's a grandmother thing. I just know that I was continually picking up the camera and trying to capture the moment. I felt like the munchkins were growing right in front of my eyes. Distance necessitates attention. I hope it won't be another fifteen months before our next reunion.

All five are unique; watching them connect with each other was a gift. I remember growing up in a large extended family of first cousins. I see the beginnings here of lifelong attachments and that warms my heart.


They played and giggled and clamored for "one more part of the story, babci" at bedtime. They got in each other's way too, as kids can do - related or un-related. As grownups can do too. Thankfully, we're a family who knows how to say "I'm sorry". Hurt feelings were expressed and respected.

Two weeks of laughter and tears and soiled diapers and jam-smeared faces. Add some potty humor and knock-knock jokes from the soon-to-be second graders (Ben and Sophie) along with theatrical productions (Tania, the Girl Who Followed Her Dream) from the younger set (Olivia and Hannah). Iris somehow managed to find her way into the family circle no matter what the big kids were doing. She has spunk, that one. Actually, they all do.

Now I have the weekend to sort the pictures, reflect a bit, and blog about the trip. Maybe I can find the words to go with the pictures. Or maybe the pictures will tell their own stories. Either way, I promise to post some soon.

I started this blog to keep a running commentary of my life, especially as a grandmother's remembrance for the little people in my life. When they are too big for my bedtime stories, the blog may be the "coolest" way to communicate and connect.


I've decided to make 5 my lucky number. Feisty five.