Exploding Heart

My heart is full.  Like, the kind of full that renders me incapable of stringing words into coherent sentences.

We just spent five days in my hometown surrounded by family, after having been gone for nearly 6 months.  We ate, we laughed, we played, we napped, we talked, we ate, we walked "the hill", we ping-pong'ed, we catchphrase-d, we cried, we thanked, we loved.

Twenty-three people crammed around my parents' beautifully decorated Thanksgiving table.  We passed the food around.  Family-style, not buffet.  Because that's our family.  We ate til it hurt, then we talked, then we ate some more.  Because that's our family.  We hung the Christmas lights up in a perfect straight line.  Because that's our family.  We took forever to say "goodbye".  Because that's our family.

My heart was full as we played a game of "Around the World" ping pong with 17 players... Grandma included. (!)  My heart was full as all the cousins played a game of Catch Phrase.  My heart was full as I got to catch up with my big brother.  Just the two of us, talking, like old times.   My heart was full as I walked and talked 4 miles with my mom, my wisest counselor.

My heart was full as we surprised my little sister at school.  My heart was full as we caught lunch with the Mr.'s parents on our way back to Oregon. My heart is full...

This week has been a dream; and I'm feeling a bit reluctant to wake up.  I'm beyond thankful for this sweet time with family; and I'm thankful that our 'goodbye' is only for 4 weeks.

What a gift, an absolute gift, this life and this family...


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