“I Love this Family”

“Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future.” – Gail Lumet Buckley

My husband and I just got back from a trip with his two brothers and sister and their spouses. We talked and laughed and remembered. The way we do every time we get together, we told some stories over again that make us laugh about things that happened when they were young or when we were young married couples. We even laughed at some of the foibles we have now that we are older. We remembered good stories about those family members we lost too soon and smiled as we kept them alive in our memories.

“In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

We started taking these sibling trips over a decade ago after my mother-in-law passed away. We worried that we would lose the closeness among us without the family gatherings that were so common when we were younger and would go home to visit my husband’s parents. Our own kids were growing up and starting families of their own and now we were the grandparents that the kids came to visit on holidays. It was harder to find times for our extended family get-togethers. So, we decided to take a retreat together each fall.

“The most important thing in the world is family and love.” – John Wooden

The first step was always to find a house big enough for four couples and one that has a great view. This was our view this year at Barren River Lake.

In years past while Darrell’s sister still lived in another state we would meet at a point between in the Smokies. We stayed at the same cabin up in the mountains so many years straight, it felt like our personal vacation home. In those early years we would do some sightseeing and often take a hike up into the mountains. Here are Darrell and his brothers behind a falls up in the Smokies ten years ago. It was a great hike. I loved it.

And here we are another year after climbing Clingman’s Dome.

But then some knees started wearing out as we all added on a few years. Some of us weren’t up to hiking any longer. Two of my sisters-in-law and I still find a trail or two to follow to enjoy the beauty of the place. We take a selfie to prove we were there, I guess.

But the best part of the trip is the time with family as we share about our lives and our families. We talk about the grandkids. We eat food we bring with no worry about counting calories for a couple of days. We play games. The guys watch baseball games because the World Series always seems to be going when we take our trips. With Atlanta fans in our group, this was an especially fun time watching the games.

“Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life.” – Albert Einstein

We do rejoice with our family in that beautiful land of life as Albert Einstein says. One of my sisters-in-law kept saying, “I love this family.” The rest of us said, we do too.

“Being part of a family means smiling for photos.” –Harry Morgan

Last, we always take pictures whether the guys want to or not. And sometimes they smile for those photos and sometimes they don’t. But we try.

Which family quote do you like best?