Be grateful for what you have, not bitter about what you don't.
My husband and his twin brother were turning 40 and I wanted them to spend this monumental moment together. Being that they live all the way across the country from each other, I thought this would be a great opportunity to meet somewhere fun, and get as many of the family members together for the occasion. We just returned from a 10 day vacation to Florida where we stayed with an Aunt & Uncle and had an amazing time. It was a wonderful trip. There were four generations of family in one place and we had the opportunity to experience several new things. The kids ate alligator, frog legs, mahi mahi, crab, conch, and grouper. They held an alligator, touched a turtle, went frog hunting, road a motor cycle, and shot a BB gun for the first time. My husband even had a chance to swim with sharks.
I'll tell ya, if this trip would've been a year earlier I would have spent most of the time quietly being sad that I can no longer take trips like this with my family. But instead I am in a place where I can be grateful for the joy that is happening around me. We spent much of the trip in a 12 passenger van, and my heart melted many times when the kids were uncontrollably laughing in the back of that van. Granted there were alot of flatulence jokes, but the under tone was cousin time that they never get to have. At one point, a grown up asked to sit in the back and my daughter replied, "Kids in the back, that's where the parties at".
Did I think about my family and how much fun we would've had on this same trip? I did, after all it was my little brothers birthday too, and I miss him terribly. But, overall I was able to appreciate the monumental experience we were having. To get everyone under one roof, the grandparents had all 5 of their grand kids together, it was a blessed time and memories they will hold onto for a lifetime.
I'll tell ya, if this trip would've been a year earlier I would have spent most of the time quietly being sad that I can no longer take trips like this with my family. But instead I am in a place where I can be grateful for the joy that is happening around me. We spent much of the trip in a 12 passenger van, and my heart melted many times when the kids were uncontrollably laughing in the back of that van. Granted there were alot of flatulence jokes, but the under tone was cousin time that they never get to have. At one point, a grown up asked to sit in the back and my daughter replied, "Kids in the back, that's where the parties at".
Did I think about my family and how much fun we would've had on this same trip? I did, after all it was my little brothers birthday too, and I miss him terribly. But, overall I was able to appreciate the monumental experience we were having. To get everyone under one roof, the grandparents had all 5 of their grand kids together, it was a blessed time and memories they will hold onto for a lifetime.
At the end of the trip, my husband and I took the kids down to the Florida Keys to quietly unplug and share a moment with my folks. We toasting to them and then tossing them in the teal blue water.
Love you guys!
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