Randy and I lost nearly everything we owned in a tornado in 2003. We learned back then that relationships are what matter most during our earthly life.
Though we love living in Florida and I’d be happy to never take another vacation, we have relationships that matter a lot to us in other parts of the country. A large concentration of those folks lives in Wisconsin and from a previous blog post titled “Road Trip” readers know we’ve been up here in the North Woods for the last three weeks. We are currently staying with a beloved niece and her amazing family and are headed home on the day this post is published.
Having never had kids there are lots of family activities we didn’t routinely experience in our adult years. Randy and I both come from large families though and over the years we were invited to share in kid/family/adult experiences we’d never have on our own. Too often we were too far away and didn’t have the time anyway. During working years it seems there is never enough time to nurture relationships with family who don’t live near where you live.
We now call Florida home. That’s a stone cold fact because we own and live in a house there. I love everything about Florida and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be in retirement. But there’s an expression “Home is Where The Heart is”. The saying has been done to death with songs and movies and shows, memes and home décor. Nearing the end of this road trip, indulge me as I tell you what that expression means to me.
My mom (between us, our only still living parent) lives in Wisconsin. We slept in her guest room for 2 weeks on this trip. We all know that our remaining time together is limited and being able to spent it with mom is one of the biggest blessings of being retired. We got to celebrate her 88th birthday with her in person, and helped her launch a tribute balloon to her late twin brother.
While there my younger sister and I strengthened a bond that had loosened considerably over the years. We encouraged a niece who is struggling with life as a single mom in these difficult times and attended her daughter’s kindergarten graduation. It was precious!
We attended two weddings, one on each side of our family, and enjoyed the company of friends and family, in-laws and out-laws, we haven’t seen for years. We met with a particularly significant friend from high school with whom I still correspond by hand written snail mail. At a hotel one morning we met and had a long, interesting discussion with a couple from Mississippi who I believe will become life-long friends.
We attended a Memorial Day parade and just last weekend one of the longest running and largest Flag Day parades in the country. A niece and her two children marched in their home school band in the Flag Day parade.
It was raining and chilly and the city’s school district cancelled their school bands in that parade (wimps!). But that little homeschool band, about 30 accomplished musicians strong, were astounding. Kids as young as 10 (10!) and a few parents marched in the band…all in step when they passed us near the end of the route. Which is more than I can say for even some of the military units in the parade.
Because of the wedding, our best friends from Missouri, who also happen to be Randy’s sister and her husband, were also in Wisconsin and we spent a few days with them as well. We went to an amusement park with a brother and sister-in-law and their family which includes a foreign exchange student, a young teen for whom they are guardians, and their son who recently got his own apartment and a great job learning a skill he doesn’t have to go to college for. We heard stories of triumph over unimaginable difficulties, suitable for publication on Randy’s website, ourhighplaces.com. We laughed and we cried, we supported and prayed, we ate (a lot!) and we celebrated.
We left a piece of our hearts with everyone we encountered. Here are pictures to help visualize where we left all those pieces.
P.S. As I mentioned, we are heading home the morning this is posted. We hope to see a few more friends and family on the way. We pray for good weather and safe travel this morning.
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