One week after walking across the Convo stage to receive an empty folder that would later contain a very expensive piece of paper my diploma, I was in Colorado waiting for family to arrive.
Mom and Dad celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on June 2. All they requested for a gift was for all of us kids and grandkids to be together to celebrate. And so, with much planning, we made it happen a little early with the Iowa side of the family arriving May 17 and leaving on the 22nd and the Arizona side arriving on the 18th and staying until the 24th.
Twelve people all together. There was someone sleeping in basically every room except the kitchen. The whole family had not been together since Christmas of 2011, and even then it was for under 36 hours. Plus, an additional member has joined our family since then.
It was wonderful!
I was awake until 11:30 or midnight almost every evening playing games with various family members. I enjoyed the fun of running after three excitable balls of energy named Benjamin, Joseph, and Maya K. I played catch and attempted to fly a kite in the Pueblo West wind. I finally got to see The Hobbit movie with my big brother, who is responsible for starting my LOTR addiction. I got to listen to a 40-year old cassette tape I did not even know existed and hear my parents say "I do."
Activities included celebrating Maya K's 6th birthday; smiling for family pictures; visiting the North Pole, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and Garden of the Gods; attending a Rockies/Diamondbacks game; and of course, celebrating Mom and Dad's 40th anniversary. (And with a bit of Facebook plotting, all of us kids did get them another gift as well.)
I thank God for my family. I pray that we will be around to celebrate Mom and Dad's 50th, 60th, and 70th anniversaries.
(Thanks to Doug for putting the slide show together.)
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