Friday, December 5, 2008

A Gathering

Yesterday was a big day.
Woke at 6, travelled for three and a half hours to arrive at my sister's house to meet my new nephew for the first time. i felt so guilty crashing in at her place with my 6 littles creating chaos, & yet... not guilty enough to stay home.
Neil had work to do in the city, so we were there for the day & then he came & picked us up & we left around 8pm, arriving home close to midnight. In the midst of the tangle of our 12 children, my oldest sister couldn't miss out on the fun & packed up her little brood & drove the 3 hours from Hinton to make it a *full house*. Between the 3 of us, there are 19 children... 3 in diapers, 2 barely out of them, 1 who turned 13 in November & then a whole bunch in between.
Sometimes i wonder what it would be like to live closer... where we could all just go out in an evening, just us 3 girls ~ & carry on a conversation ~ "passing the ball" back & forth without it being hijacked by hurt fingers, or feelings, or markers on window sills, or poopy bums, hungry tummies & eavesdropping pre-teens. ~
But maybe sentences, thoughts, & conversations are supposed to be captured in tiny colourful pieces right now. i don't remember *what* we were talking about when that little husky, curly haired boy cried because he lost his 'bouncy ball'... but i remember how sweet he looked with his lips turned down, till little elfin princess found it for him & restored his *joy*. i remember that Robin, 7, is an artist... & Ellie, 5, can spell & read better than any other 5 year old i know. i remember that Wyatt, 13, is addicted to his baby sister, Mielle, 8mo, & i wished i could put superglue on his shoulders so i wouldn't be afraid of her falling off that high perch (when did his shoulders get so high & broad??) i remember Sadie's grin when i got to rescue her from her too short nap. i remember arms intertwined, cousins pairing off, wrestling matches, cheering for baby's wobbly steps to show off for proud aunties... & most sweetly, inhaling that new little boy who changes our mix yet again with his perfect nose & downy soft hair, nestling closer to escape the noise that he'll add to soon enough.
Welcome to our world, baby Wesley.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a little bit like the Gaither song "We Have This Moment Today" --glad you three girls could get together for a little while... and that you have so much in common - lots of kiddies, homeschooling etc. I just wish there could be more "gatherings" -- they don't seem to happen as often as I remember from my childhood!
Saskatchewan Cousin!

jessica jespersen said...

Paige, this is funny isn't it? Our blogs *are* very similar. I didn't think they would be that much so. haa! No guilty feelings about visiting!! I do seem to be a little slower recovering from this birth but Steph and I needed a visit from you regardless. We really should plan a getaway just the 3 of us sometime...and if that ever happens of course mom should come too. :) Curt came home early today to fix fencing so has half emptied the house out. I hope he remembers to bring them in for lunch! Leftover lasagna from last night's supper. ;) Thanks for bringing a healthy homemade lunch for everyone... and make sure to tell Cairo thanks for the killer gingersnaps too. *hugs*--j

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails

playlist