We hung out in my sister’s backyard today. She lives in St. Paul so she has the typical small house, small front yard, small narrow backyard that runs out to an alley where a dilapidated garage sits. They have two Adirondack chairs in their backyard - the fad these days and now sold in plastic so they don’t rot. Ezra has a sandpit in the backyard and some toys to dig in the pit. It was a warm sunny day and we sat there most of the morning taking turns watching the kids, getting coffee, cleaning, or preparing food.
My brother Josh stopped by this day too. He had made some empty promises about coming earlier, but asked to be excused from stopping by earlier because some friends were in from out of town (…um, hello?). He looked handsome fit, and charming as usual - full of smiles, hugs, and plans to get to together - but left nonchalantly, having decided we’d have to meet another time. That's my brother Josh - good intentions, little follow through.
Right after naps we packed up and headed out to Seth’s. It would be the first time for us to see my parents since coming by plane on Thursday. My pops was slow moving and wobbly - using a cane to steady himself. My sister-in-law, Libby, had created a huge spread to feed the family and friends. My mother had probably made a hundred trips to Cub Foods for the event - helping Libby set up. My aunt Jackie had come to celebrate after having invited herself this past Friday. The whole family was together - nieces, nephews, brothers, sister, in-laws, my high school friend-adopted-family member - we made 25 in total at my brothers. I guess it was a lot of people, but to me it felt just right.
These are the sweetest times.
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