It was a lovely visit, and a very fun weekend. One of my sisters had been here before. The other sister, and her husband, had not. Schedules finally aligned, and they all were able to be here at the same time.

The weather cooperated enough for us to spend some time out on the lake and at the sandbar one day, and another afternoon splashing around in the water off our dock. We also sat out on the deck, simply enjoying the view and the peace and quiet of the rural area we live in. We talked about the critters – like possum and armadillos – we see regularly here that they’ve never come across in Illinois or Minnesota, and joked about how they should drive down here whenever they needed to gas up their cars, since gas was cheaper here than where they lived.

We watched a fair amount of the Olympics in the evenings, and played some of the card games we always enjoy whenever we get together at Thanksgiving or Christmas – although it’s been a few years now since we’ve been able to do that. One of my sisters and I went out a few times in the middle of the night to look for the Perseid meteor shower. We didn’t see any shooting stars, but my sister marveled at how much clearer the sky is here – and how many more stars could be seen – than in the Chicago suburb where she lives.

I made plenty of food and snacks, just as my sisters do whenever they’re the ones hosting family gatherings, and I forced them to take some food home with them when they left. The sister going to Chicago was flying, so she couldn’t take much, but my other sister and brother-in-law were driving, so they had a cooler we could fill for their two-day trip. Still, my husband and I have been working on the leftovers we didn’t finish off while everyone was here.

There was no holiday or special occasion connected with my family’s visit, and we didn’t have any big-deal events or celebrations planned. Just ordinary, everyday activities. But after more than a year of not being able to travel, or get together for holidays or other family festivities, our ordinary visit felt like an extraordinary event. We were all together. And that’s all we needed.

August 6, 2021
©Betty Liedtke, 2021

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