The Family

So far this week has been packed with a large "to do" list of all the things we've been meaning to do for several weeks (and in some cases, months). One of today's projects was to hang up a copy of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." Of course I have to make nearly every project more complicated than it needs to be. A simple copy of this document in a simple frame would have been much easier. However, once I started, I decided that a copy wasn't good enough. It didn't seem personal enough. So after hours of working on a project that only needed to take ten minutes, I turned a task into a much deeper and more personal experience.

The collage on our bedroom wall

A close-up of the print in the frame

Today is the eleventh anniversary since my Aunt Teresa died of an aneurysm. Those who know me best know that this experience deeply affected me. Without going into any great detail, it changed nearly every aspect of my life, and it took many years for me to fully resolve my grief.

As I was working on my Proclamation project today I thought about my family--my marriage and my children, both the daughter I have now and the children I will have in the near and distant future. And then I thought about how I had always imagined Teresa would be here for every big event in my life. I thought about how much she has missed out on. Her nieces and nephews have had twenty-six of their own children in those eleven years, and the number is growing by three before too long. I thought that she would be at my wedding and would maybe visit me when I had my first child. I like to think that Teresa attended both of these events in spirit.

I'd be lying if I said that I don't miss Teresa or that thinking about her doesn't make me a little sad still. However, I find great comfort in knowing that my family is a forever family. I don't know exactly how everything will be sorted out in eternity to come, but I do know that I will be with my loved ones again, including Teresa. I am grateful that Jon and I can be together forever, not just until one of us dies. I love my family--immediate and extended. How blessed I am to be a part of it!

I love you, Teresa.