Feb 26 - The Day We Were Family

Just two days after Jon's dad's passing, the grief still seemed to hang heavy in the air around us, and understandably so. I've noticed that in times like these, family is just drawn together. Like we innately know that we should be with each other, even if no one verbalizes such a notion. So Sunday afternoon we went to lunch with 16 friends and family members. The crowded restaurant had to stick a few random tables together to fit us in, but we didn't mind. It's quite a good reason for getting public attention. Jon and his sister spent the afternoon going through more family photos for the slideshow and we all reconvened for dinner and even more photos at Jon's mom's house. It was another one of those days where each laugh and smile seemed to be counterweighted by tears and moments of reflective quiet. I watched my sister-in-law slowly make her way through photos, the tears silently rolling down her cheeks. I sat with my mother-in-law fight back tears watching her kids struggle through this pain while also revisiting her own past. On the drive home, Jon chose our driving music, which happened to be Kristian Stanfill. I leaned in to assume our usual late night drive position, with my head on his shoulder and my hand on his chest. I realized suddenly that my hand was touching damp material. It took a moment to process what was happening, but one glance upward at my sweet love's face confirmed it. Though I had heard his voice singing the words, I hadn't heard his quiet tears. Why do words seem so small in these moments? He just smiled sheepishly as I wiped his damp cheeks and I knew that even the most well-crafted attempt at comfort couldn't heal the way those tears could. Once home we lay for awhile in bed, continuing to share these raw moments that make marriage so cherished a thing to me. I could write more but its these times that continue to forge the kinds of bonds that only he and I will share, and those are the moments I'm OK with protecting from the forum of the blog. Besides, it would probably just make you depressed. Or jealous. Or both. ;-)

Highlights:
1) As we went through the photos of Wes, we just kept finding more and more photos of him in one position: asleep with a baby on his chest. Perfect.

2) Spring showed its lovely head today, which sent me into a mini cleaning frenzy. That weather just begs me to throw open my windows, toss my allergies to the wind (no pun intended), and dust something.

3) Made a nice salad for the fam with our farmer's market goods. This has once again allowed me to regain my position as "favorite" with my mother-in-law. :)

Love & Loved Ones,

K