Family dinners

We had our weekly family dinner Sunday night. It began when we would watch the Sopranos together. It is now an occasion that had dropped by the wayside as we became increasingly more busy in our lives. It is incredibly difficult to always get nine people together on a regular basis on a given (Sunday) night. Part of the reason the family night began to vanish is due to the fact that we are usually gone twice a month during the "winter" months because we go to the little hill country place. Even in the other months, we are gone once a month. When Dad was alive, K and I would go to the assisted living to visit him on Sunday and when I got home I would usually be emotionally exhausted. The last thing I wanted to do was to fix a big meal.
At the funeral, B was deeply moved. He is the one who was so stoic about Dad’s passing. He wrote a poem for K and me. It was saying that Dad would be "born again into a new place."
B said he was excited for him to be going to heaven. I believe when he went to the coffin, B realized he could have had a better relationship with his grandfather, even though in these last years Dad was not his same grandfather.
The old saying: a daughter is a daughter all of her live, but a son is a son until he takes a wife is alive and well in our family - even the extended family. G was closer to my family. In fact he was proud to tell people it was a privilege to have known his father in law for 38 years. S is closer to us than his family - or at least some. My brother in law is closer to M’s family. My niece’s husband is closer to her family. Some of this has to do with location. The sons in law live closer to the maternal side of the union. Well, so it goes with B. He has been closer to C’s family after they married. Part of that is they live with C’s mother. This is a long explanation for his recent desire to be with us once a week again.
It is nice to have the family together again. It IS easier because I am not so emotionally drained. Right now it can be every weekend because Simone has just gotten her first heartworm treatment (if you forgot she is our rescue boxer). She can’t travel for 4 weeks. But to sit and share a meal and share our time is so rewarding. It is a way to keep the family connected. That is important. It gives the kids, Lady Bug, Monkey Boy, and M a real sense of being connected and having a foundation. I pray it can continue.