Family

April 2015

It was dinner time and you do have to eat!

Plant Street Market in Winter Garden has finally opened. Of course, none of the sandwich type restaurants were open, but that was ok. We had a late lunch, and a large one at that.

Sharing. It is a wonderful thing!  My cousins were in town and we put together a little party!

I had actually never been to Bass Pro Shop - what an adventure.

Artegon - that was a novel concept and has real potential in an almost abandoned mall - at least once it is too hot to be outside, and if they keep the AC running!

But Plant Street Market - now there is a real 'old Florida' concept.  Little stalls of interesting products. You could call it cottage industries on display, I guess.

Some were well known names.   Axum Coffee. Yum, and an company with a neat mission.
The Tea Company - delightful! Freshly brewed before your very eyes.

Then, the pastry shop and chocolates. David Ramirez Chocolates.   I'm a personal fan of French Lindt, but these specialty chocolates are pretty swell.   Of course, part of the draw is probably because of the way I received my first box of David Ramirez Chocolates.  It is that personal touch.  When you enjoy seeing a student grow up, and see her passion and the way she saw food as such an art form....and then goes on to study pastry and chocolates, and interns for David Ramirez....and then brings you some that she made.  Ok....that's enough to be hooked when you see them.   (Good job, Taylor!)

There is something about food and friendships.  It was fun to just sit outside on a beautiful Florida evening and just chat. My brother and I hardly ever talk about childhood, but it was fun to recall those days. It was neat and a bit sad too, to hear stories of families and growing up, but also great to see how the sadness experienced by some in our little group was allowed to be turned into something really joyful, because they trusted God to just handle all things.

My childhood, and Roger's too, was pretty uneventful. Not tragic. Not particularly sad.  I guess we were the "Leave it to Beaver" or "Andy of Mayberry" kind of family with that kind of idealic American life in the suburbs.  We played on vacant lots, had sticker wars (sand spurs), had the freedom of the neighborhood, went to school, and church, and just had a pretty happy life.

Roger's life was very much the same. An only child, but one with a lot of cousins nearby. He loved it, but said that he had the best of both worlds. He had all the playmates, or "sisters and brothers" that he ever could have wanted, but when they drove him crazy, he could just go home - and hide out.   He was a bit of a hermit at heart.

I'm not sure I ever realized how really blessed we were until we were sitting around that table.

Roger's Lesson: The simple things really are the best. You don't need a lot of stuff and you don't need to be going and doing all of the time. Enjoy the ones around you and learn from each other. It prepares you for what comes next in life. 

Roger had cousins all around him, all the time. We moved away from all of our cousins - and we had a lot of them.  We went to Georgia a lot, but popping in and out of the lives of each other did not build really strong bonds like Roger had with his cousins. I do miss that.  I'm glad that we have re-connected in ways these past years. Thank you FB for that!

God gives us families for a reason. For the good or challenging of it, for the struggles or the fun times, for the insanity and even the tears, we learned - and hopefully found something good to use in our adult lives.  Families almost force you to learn to forgive, for we live closer together than practically anyone we would live with on this earthly journey - outside of a spouse.

It is certainly a journey and I know that I am a very different person than I was 50 years ago - and even 20 years ago, and yes, even a few years ago.  Always growing, or at least I hope I am.  I know that I am more mellow, less stressed, more accepting of differences and I hope, most of all, more determined to learn the "back story" when there is someone I just can not understand.

Because our back story is what forms who we are. Every single thing we go through changes us - some for the worse, some for the better.

Oh, how I hope that the things I walk through - both trials and opportunities - have changed me for the better.

With Jesus as my guide - and my model - it is certainly what I hope for.

Embrace that earthly family - whatever kind you have!