And a miracle happened there....well, sorta. For the first time in over five years, my three kids and their families are in one place. Our son and his family arrived last week for three weeks, and it has mostly been non-stop since then, with minor breaks for water/food/resting.
Since the girls came to Israel in September 2008, all of us have anguished over the fact that the whole family did not get together. As happy as we are with our move, it never seems right, somehow. Something huge is missing - the rest of the family. Even before, it was a rarity that we would all be in one place at the same time.
I know, I know, they grow up, they move away, blah blah blah. But a parent's heart aches to have everyone together.
Every child is a miracle - nothing less. You only truly realize that as you raise one. The fact that they grow physically, learn to walk, talk, read, etc. - every single step is a gift from God. You wonder at it, no matter how many children you have, with each passing day.
When I am here in Israel with my daughters, I think - if only our son was here too, with his family, life would be perfect. Not to mention how his sisters miss him - every Whatsapp conversation, every phone conversation, is reported and gushed over. The connection is powerful and does not wane with the years.
As parents of adults, we know (ok, this is morbid) that we will be gone and they will carry on. What any parent wants is for their children to be close, to be in touch, to take care of each other. Because, as all parents say to their kids at one time or another, "One day that will be all you have!" meaning we'll have kicked the bucket.
This three weeks is the most time my kids have spent together since my oldest graduated high school in 1997. And guess what? They are still crazy, silly, and make each other laugh uncontrollably, and still tease and make fun of each other. I am watching this in complete wonder, and trying to record it in my mind.
Yes, they are all religious and have raised gorgeous, smart, respectful children. But it's the caring and the laughing that matter to me more than anything. They are there for each other in the most important ways possible.
When,you think back to all of the steps it took you to get here, all you can do is be grateful to God for the chance to be part of the lives of such wondrous souls. And you remind yourself, watching all of them interact lovingly, that you have to appreciate what you have every single day, and thank God for it - it's His gifts, after all, that make anything possible.
Since the girls came to Israel in September 2008, all of us have anguished over the fact that the whole family did not get together. As happy as we are with our move, it never seems right, somehow. Something huge is missing - the rest of the family. Even before, it was a rarity that we would all be in one place at the same time.
I know, I know, they grow up, they move away, blah blah blah. But a parent's heart aches to have everyone together.
Every child is a miracle - nothing less. You only truly realize that as you raise one. The fact that they grow physically, learn to walk, talk, read, etc. - every single step is a gift from God. You wonder at it, no matter how many children you have, with each passing day.
When I am here in Israel with my daughters, I think - if only our son was here too, with his family, life would be perfect. Not to mention how his sisters miss him - every Whatsapp conversation, every phone conversation, is reported and gushed over. The connection is powerful and does not wane with the years.
As parents of adults, we know (ok, this is morbid) that we will be gone and they will carry on. What any parent wants is for their children to be close, to be in touch, to take care of each other. Because, as all parents say to their kids at one time or another, "One day that will be all you have!" meaning we'll have kicked the bucket.
This three weeks is the most time my kids have spent together since my oldest graduated high school in 1997. And guess what? They are still crazy, silly, and make each other laugh uncontrollably, and still tease and make fun of each other. I am watching this in complete wonder, and trying to record it in my mind.
Yes, they are all religious and have raised gorgeous, smart, respectful children. But it's the caring and the laughing that matter to me more than anything. They are there for each other in the most important ways possible.
When,you think back to all of the steps it took you to get here, all you can do is be grateful to God for the chance to be part of the lives of such wondrous souls. And you remind yourself, watching all of them interact lovingly, that you have to appreciate what you have every single day, and thank God for it - it's His gifts, after all, that make anything possible.
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