Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Family Time, Sister Time

This afternoon we arrived at my parents' house for our Thanksgiving trip. Time for some super duper family time. My family has always been close, but geographic proximity makes it feasible for get-togethers to happen with more regularity. Lately, I've been taking advantage of this time to get a little less time in with my son.

I know, it sounds bad at first, but lets be honest. The brand of parenting I have chosen involves me being within arms reach of my son almost constantly. I was doing the math the other day and thought part of the reason I get so tired of being with my son is that I am pretty much always with him. There are plenty of awesome parents who see their child for an hour or two in the morning, drop them off with another care provider for the work day, then spend a few hours with them in the evening before they drift off to the blissful twelve hours of sleep they are oh-so-lucky to experience. Lets just say that, by my own choice, this is not my experience. I am not saying these parents don't also deserve a break, I'm just saying I'll let myself off the hook a little here.

The point of all this is to say that I had two hours or so of shopping time with my sister-in-law. I love that this was some of the best "Family Time" I've had in a long long time. Not to take away from time with my son or husband, or even the large family gatherings where eight or nine of us gab in a glorious pun making riot of hilarity based on jokes that someone misheard and referenced twelve years ago. This is different. Sure, I've known her for seven or eight years, but she's a fresh face, someone who isn't obligated to love me.

I have always treasured my biological sister, and since high school the sisterhood of Sukwat, but I am particularly grateful right now for a sister-in-law with whom I can be my complete honest self. I am so thankful for her ability to share wise and kind words and still make me laugh. I wish everyone could be so blessed as to have their family blossom with flowers as fragrant as she.

What is "Family Time" like for you? Does quality family time involve different people at different times for different reasons? How? Why?

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