If Days Were Like Pages...

I'd take a knife to this one.

 If I could cut out the big bad blotch in the middle, today would have been a perfect day.  I looked nice in my new outfit and fabulous new scarf that my best friend Kate helped me purchase.  Our family actually made it to church on time and snagged a seat with Kate and her family.  Going to church with Kate is a joy. I'm so glad that we're attending the same church..when she's in town. :) For the first time in over a year, I wasn't scared of attending church nor hating that it was Sunday.  Lacking both of those emotions today was beautiful.

 After the bad stuff, we attended a family reunion with my parents.  This was for my dad's side of the family.  His mother is the youngest of fifteen children and one of her brothers was turning 90.  This put four siblings in the 90 plus camp and it was great to see all of them.  Now to be honest, I don't know a lot of my great aunts and uncles.  There are just too many.  But today was special because I got to see some of the ones that I'm closest to, or like the best.  We waited until my parents arrived to go in, partially because that way our relatives would know who we are and so that I could stop crying.  My parents were uber-helpful with our children who in turn felt much more at ease in the crowd with their grandparents there.  I hadn't seen some of these relatives since my wedding if not longer, so it was very nice to introduce them to my children.

 Steve's parents had invited us over for a wiener roast in their fireplace.  We arrived there early, so Aris and I headed over to Kate's parents' house for tea.  We had a lovely visit!  At one point both Aris and Kate were sprawled on the floor looking at craft books while her mother and I visited.  It was a blessing for Aris to have some calm, quiet, safe time after our challenging experience.

 Then we tromped back through the yards to Steve's parents' house for dinner.  My sister-in-law and her children joined us.  We had a very nice evening, and my kids did really well until the end.  Then Kian had a major meltdown.

 There was a lot of good today.  I'm not trying to be mysterious about what happened, I just don't feel like writing about it.  Instead I'm trying to remember the good, the blessings, the joy that was there. I think it worked. :)