Our dogs are a huge part of our life and are an important part of our family. I have turned my life’s work over to Living and Working with Therapy Dogs, writing about my dogs and what they do almost every day. But, there are times when the canines are set to the side, and the human part of the family is center stage. This past weekend was one of those times. It was our Anniversary on Saturday and Mother’s Day on Sunday, and to celebrate these events, two of our daughters traveled home to be with us.
It was an amazing family weekend, from start to finish. We packed so much into 48 hours. We laughed and laughed, walked and hiked. We drove to Connecticut to spend time visiting with Al’s mother, now in her 91st year, to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day. Of course, we headed over to one of our favorite fun places: Black Birch Winery, where our friends – and winery owners – Mary and Michelle, gave us a warm greeting. By afternoon on Saturday, morning rain clouds had lifted making way for warm, sunny skies. We sat out on the winery deck enjoying each other’s company. In the evening, we pulled out the infamous Bananagrams and played game-after-game-after-game ’til we all got blurry-eyed and silly.
The girls made us a special Anniversary dinner and next morning a delightful, made-to-order, Mother’s Day brunch. Lots more chatter and laughter. Sunday afternoon meant time to pack up the cars and head out, hoping to beat the traffic on the pike. The weekend was made complete by having Facetime with our eldest daughter and our darling grandchildren, ages 2 and 3 months, in Boulder, CO.
One of the gifts my youngest daughter gave me was a bottle of California wine. She had brought it in her suitcase from San Francisco where she and her husband now live. I must save this for a special occasion, I told her that Sunday morning. When the cars left the driveway and I was left doing the weekend’s laundry, I placed the wine gift in our wine rack – for that special occasion I thought, wondering when that might be.
While working in the garden Monday afternoon, I reflected on the magnificent weekend I had just had. I thought about how much my family means to me, how very special each one of our daughters is, what amazing individuals they had grown to be. This is it, I thought to myself, this is my special occasion. What better occasion to celebrate than that of the joy our daughters have brought us, every day of their lives. I put away my tools, removed the gardening gloves, popped the cork on this fine bottle of wine, and sat back on my porch rocker toasting the special young women in my life. How lucky I am. They make every day a Happy Mother’s Day.