Nothing Better

I overheard Judy saying to the nieghbor....."of course there is enough to eat...come on over and join us."

My dad loves nothing better in life than for his children to get together at his house for a gathering. He has spent his entire life providing for his family....."We" wished to have him home more often and in our youth were unable to appreciate his constant state of working. Having a family of our own I realize that sometimes our future goals overcome our day to day goals.

Our Dad made it his life's mission to make his house a place that we would all want to come back to.....Now that they are grandchildren he has shifted to our children's wants and wishes. He has this orange tractor that Sage loves to take a ride on with "Pa" and the doggies.....Usually to some far of venture in search of her favorites, like berries and tangerines.

This last gathering was just for gathering.....He BBQ'd his usual "three kinds of meat" as David calls it. Food is always on the table when we arrive and it just keeps arriving in various bowls and plates. One is hard pressed to find a place to sit without something to nibble on within arm's reach. By the time the meal is served we are all pretty full but we don't act like it as we load up our plates with meat and veggitables. We now have three grandchildren and the mothers are adept at feeding ourselves with one hand and our babies with the other. Teething biquits are the ticket to a few moments of enjoying our own dinner. In the next two months there will be a fourth grandchild, Jorgia. It seems like there is always something that is a highlight...currently it is Mo's BBQ sauce. We had two bottles open and I think we ate it on everything.

OK, we are all completely stuffed now, and then dessert......Judy is famous for her desserts, and Jamie is following in her footsteps. The pumkin cheesecake was wonderful, the apple upside down cake and the apple breadpudding were delecious but then to top it off was this SAUCE that had butter floating on the top of it.....WOW.

Watching our children play on the floor is the after meal entertainment. My uncle was over with his newest grandchild. Total chaos now replaces the subdued quiet afterdinner glow of yesteryears....

Having five brothers and sisters is the best thing in the entire world. We don't see eye to eye on everything, there are issues, there are miscommunications but there is always a link that transcends our imperfections and will bind us together forever. I can only imagine what it must feel like to have your adult children come home for a evening and just sit back, take them all in and just love them more than life itself.

Thanks Dad and Judy for all your both do for us.