Family AND Friends

Whenever my siblings and I would fight, Mom would say "someday, your brother/sister will be your best friend." She'd then admonish us to "never fight so much we stopped talking or loving each other."

This maternal admonition came home to me in a BIG way the Summer of '06!

We had THOUGHT we were moving to Austria for Rick to pursue a doctorate in bioethics. God had other plans. After selling our home in South Carolina, packing up, storing our things in various locations, giving away all that was no longer "necessary" and generally wreaking havoc on our staid existence, we found out we were NOT going to Austria as the Austrians wouldn't grant us visas to stay for more than three months.

Figuring God had slammed that particular door, we decided to "drop back and punt"; we decided to go with Plan B: relocate to Colorado. So with five kids, no job, and no home, we flew out on June 1st for an extended stay with one of my brothers, his wife and their 10 children. For THREE months we co-habitated; yep, all 19 of us with two-and-a-half baths, one washer, one dryer and a very slow internet connection.

But, as Mom's admonition promised, we were able to keep the family going because we're all friends. Yes, there were ructions, fights and general mayhem. But the bottom line was that we love each other and are still great friends.

As Mom promised, my brother and his wife are our best friends and we owe them a HUGE PUBLIC THANK YOU for allowing us to live with them while dh got a great job at the diocesan high school and we found the perfect house for us.

And, God willing, we're not budging for a long, long time because now we don't have to drive for 3 days to come visit our best friends -- it's now only 30 minutes!