Some weekends leave you feeling totally rejuvenated. Some weekends leave you feeling totally exhausted. This one, for me, did both.
The women on my mother’s side of the family have this amazing tradition of getting together for annual girls’ weekends. We gather in my hometown to play games, share stories and eat and drink ourselves silly. And there’s never a lack of food, drinks or silliness — especially this year when my aunt busted out a giant bag of funny hats and wigs. (Why wouldn’t you put a chicken hat on a Buddha statue?? Seriously!)
These weekends aren’t big on activities. We played only one game of cards. My cousin Shelly and I went for a quick run while some of the other ladies did a 30-minute workout video. Pretty much the entire rest of the time was devoted to preparing meals, eating meals or cleaning up after meals. Or drinking.
Ummm… Ahoy?
I had a three-hour car ride home today to think about the weekend (and laugh again at the extra silly parts, such as the photo above). And I came to the conclusion that it absolutely does not matter what we do. We could be shopping, crafting, practicing yoga or laying tile — it’s not about what we do together. It’s that we are together.
We come together to reminisce and share old family memories. To cook for each other and share new recipes. To celebrate milestones large and small. To reconnect with that goddess-like part of ourselves that all too often gets buried and ignored in the day-to-day monotony of our busy lives. We come together to catch up on family events and to comfort and encourage one another. To remind ourselves of the special bonds that sisters, mothers, daughters, aunts and cousins all share — that we are one because we are family. That we love each other — and always will.
Certainly we didn’t get a lot of sleep, and I couldn’t wait to get my daughters in bed this evening so that I could call it an early night. So at the same time that I’m feeling exhausted, I’m also totally renewed in my soul. My cup is replenished with the light and love of generations of Anderson women. I am so blessed to have you all in my family — and forever in my heart.
LB