Rerunning an old blog from May —

Today has been a beautiful day in so many ways. Woke up to vivid blue skies. Saw lots of birds on the feeders. Ate breakfast on the porch. Finally had a hummingbird visitor. He was so chubby. Don’t know how he flies around on his tiny wings with his big nectar belly. Maybe he’ll stay around. Course if he could read my mind, when I laughed watching him sip from the feeder, he might not come back. You can tell he’s been visiting the feeders a lot!

My friend sent me a note about the legend of the cicadas. She called their sounds the “summertime music when I was a barefoot child.” She quotes John Berger, “Do you know the legend about cicadas? They say they are the souls of poets who cannot keep quiet because, when they were alive, they never wrote the poems they wanted to.” Now I decided that Chief might be a cicada instead of the plump cardinal who visits me on the porch bannister.

Spent the afternoon at middle vet brother’s home up at the farm. His little grandson turned two years old and had a birthday party. Lots of family there and we all enjoyed lunch and watching the birthday boy run around. I’m fortunate with family here in Roanoke. We enjoy being together and are congenial. Late afternoon turned into story hour. I love it when we all laugh and try to out story each other. Middle brother might have won with his rocket story from college but my nephew had a pretty good college freshman story, too. I had to interrupt and throw a few stories out, too. Oldest brother wasn’t there. He’s got some good stories, too. When my oldest was little he loved to sit near the adult table at holiday dinners so he could listen to the stories. You know you’ve told a good one when somebody chokes with laughter. I was the one who choked today!

Family bonds help us get through disastrous times. They offer support and security and unconditional love. Family doesn’t always have to be blood relations. People we care about are our family. Our close friends are part of our families and share in our happy and sad times, too. I think our children learn so much from their family connections — love, respect, faith, hope, caring, traditions, commitment, and spirituality. Before children make their way in the world, interactions with their families set the stage for life. Families need to “spend quality time together, eat meals together, and take time to show you genuinely care.” Interaction with families teach us how to trust, how to resolve conflicts, set boundaries, and sustain relationships.

“At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, a parent.” — Barbara Bush