I cannot say how good this vacation has been for my soul. As happy as I am in my life and in my marriage, there are some residual effects of divorce that occasionally rear their nasty head. And they bother me. One is the fact that when you divorce, you inevitably lose some friends. Some people take sides, some people judge you, and some people just plain don't know how to respond, so they avoid you. I can't go chasing down every person I've ever known to make sure that they're okay with my life choices. And while for the most part I can let it go, sometimes it does bother me.
I grew up in the same town almost all of my life. I had a very loving extended family... made up entirely of people not related to me. It would literally be impossible for me to keep in touch with all of them as often as I'd like. But at the risk of sounding sappy, they are always in my heart, and I have very tender feelings for them. Today at my parents' house, a bunch of old friends from Massachusetts happened to align paths so that we all met up. I laughed until I cried- for hours. It was so reassuring to me to feel so loved. It felt good for them to tell me that I looked happy, and to see that my happiness was important to them.
I don't know what I ever did to deserve such a blessing in my life. My husband is not big on keeping in touch with people, which is unfathomable to me. But he understands and accepts my need to do so. That makes me a very lucky woman.
Here are a few pictures from today. You may know some of these people, you may not. (I'm sure you all know Steve... otherwise known in Blogland as HappyBack. If he's not on your reader, he should be. You're guaranteed a laugh.) These people are my extended family, and I love them dearly.
Norman and Debbie
Me and Tara
Yisel, Andrew and Isabella (my brother and his wife... so they are family)
Don and Iris
Sam, Paul and Ellie
Valerie and Tara
Me and Steve
12 comments:
You look so happy in the last picture! I am so glad you got to reunite with your "Family".
Lucky you. Really lucky them. Friends are such a blessing. But I'm still not blogging until you stop by my house to say hello.
I am SOOO jealous! You got to see Tara, Steve, Valerie, Paul, Andrew, AND your parents? Luckeeee... What a fun reunion. Did you talk until, like, 3 in the AM? Andrew's little girl looks strongly like an Okey. Take me on your little adventure next time, huh?
I wish I could have been there!
My husband is the same way; I often ask him if he really ever had friends before I met him since I really can't name one pre-Ilene era friend.
But after meeting me, really, all friends for him were trite and shallow.
I'm glad that you still have such love and support back "home!"
HappyBack looks different every time I see him. He's an enigma.
I'm glad you are having a good time so that I can have vicarious fun through you.
Isn't it great that no matter how much time passes, good friends are the same???
You look great. Hope to see you soon too...
Damn, I look good, don't I?
What a fun weekend! My kids loved Andrew's kids. They'll love your kids too, once we get the whole herd of marauding hooligans together. Let's make that happen, shall we??
Foxboro rocks!
Thanks for the comment. I'll be fine. I'm glad you're feelin' the love. Have a great trip.
Lookin good girl. I'm so happy for your vacation. Mine's just around the corner and you are giving me great hope. I love the bostonians. Looks like an amazing group. Where's Steve and Christine? I love seeing pics of them too. It would give me a warm feeling inside.
You still seem so far away. Come back menina!
So did everyone follow your parents to NC? How did it happen to have everyone there? Great fun.
That is so fun! Glad you were able to reconnect with so many people!
Are they all ok with being introduced to all your many blogging friends? ;)
Post a Comment