Our Visit with E

HELLO FRIENDS!  HAPPY COVIDS-GIVING.  oooh....maybe I should work on that a bit.  Sounds unappealing.  

Anyway...

Today I want to share about the magical week we had while hosting our out-of-town guest, E.  She is a delightful youngster with a brilliant personality, a HUGE amount of courage, and a bright future ahead of her.


As we all know, Covid-19 has made travel and visiting nearly impossible.  But with devotion and ingenuity, E's mother and I created a safe visit for E to come and see my husband's Aunt Jean who is E's Nana.  And let me tell you it was WELL worth the effort all around.  We started planning this about a month ago.  At that time, we knew Rhode Island was being mandated to go on a "Pause" from the Governor, whereby shopping and dining out would be so limited that most people would opt to stay in and not spread Covid 19.  Cases here in the smallest state in the country SURGED just a week before E got here! My own SON and his father have been in quarantine together at his father's house since just after Thanksgiving!  On Thanksgiving, Aunt Jean suffered a Heart Attack.  To say that the odds had stacked themselves against us would be to put it rather mildly.  But we pressed on.

On the day she arrived, my husband Jamie and my daughter Annika and I, drove to Boston to meet her.  Her arrival was mid-day so it was a leisurely day.  We had never met E before and she didn't know us either so it was exciting and maybe also a little scary.  I mean, what if she didn't like us??????  I admit...I was a tinge worried about that.

As soon as I heard her speak in her soft southern drawl, I definitely felt intimidated.  "How does a Southern accent make a person sound more authoritative?" I thought.  She was a gentle kid and that was easy to see from the start.  We bombarded her as she came off the plane, yelling to her and taking pictures...it was hilarious and embarrassing (so I am told).  But you know what...she needed to know who we are.  We are that big boisterous family that she has up North to learn about.  So we hit the road and before we even left Boston, the temps were dropping rapidly.  E had arrived with tennis shoes on and was hoping to get some warm fuzzy boots so we did that first.  We walked around the bookstore and then the shoe store.  She got cute boots and matching mittens.  

It wasn't long before this warm weather angel was a little winter bunny!

A quick stop at our house to show her where she was going to sleep and meet our animals, then we whisked her off to see Nana.  The meeting was heart warming!  Tears, smiles and lots of pictures.  Annika and I ran to the market to give those two a chance to have one on one time.  When we returned, Annika and I cooked a small meal and we all ate together.  It was my favorite day of the trip.  Although other beautiful ones were yet to come- in retrospect, the moment the two were reunited....that was the best part.



When I look at these photos now...I cannot believe this woman was in the hospital on Thanksgiving, had a heart attack and several stents put in, recovered enough to come home and then looks this good for her visit with E.  THIS IS A MIRACLE.  I witnessed a miracle.  
I appreciate my readers indulging me here...I don't just tell facts, I like to tell a story.  This is a story about a granddaughter's relationship with her grandmother and it is inspiring and beautiful.  Sarah, Aunt Jean's daughter, and myself...we are very similar.  We are "take care of business" types...we feel a lot but then we channel that into action to do things or create things or take care of things.  In this case, she and I created the space and the way for these two to reunite during a health crisis (pandemic) and to do so safely.  I know we did some good karmic work here.  I know because it hurt.  We both gave until it hurt and then kept going.

Family...family are who you choose.  They are not who birthed you or who was your sibling.  You cannot choose this and sometimes, you would not choose if you had the option.  Such is the way of life.  Many will disagree with me on this but I do not care about that.  I KNOW that family are who we choose. I chose Aunt Jean.  She is my Aunt Jean...not just my husband's Aunt Jean.  I love her.  She is a soulmate to me and I am GLAD to be there for her.  In fact, I love pretty much ALL of my husband's family and I thankfully accept the name I received when I married, Carroll.

So I gained a niece...just when I needed her the most...I didn't see her coming.  She turned my world on its axis.  She opened my eyes and my heart.  She awakened the sleeping thing inside of me.  She is truly an angel.  That is also how she made my husband feel and I KNOW with no doubts whatever, that this is what her Nana feels.  She gave her Nana the strength to push through while she was in the hospital...to come home from there and to be able to reunite with her.

During her stay, we also spent much time with E and had as much fun as the Covid restrictions and our time constraints would allow.  We enjoyed playing Clue and Video games and eating and playing in snow.  We took rides with hot chocolate and saw whatever Christmas lights we could find.  But mostly, we spent quality time learning about each other. 








This week amazed me. This week inspired me. This week awakened me. Being in Boston made me remember that I am not stuck in a small place.  Being in the airport reminded me that there are places to go and experiences yet to be had.  Meeting a relative from another state and having them be part of our family here for a while, was such a wonderful passage in my life, more of a newly opened doorway.  I had forgotten what all of that was like because we have all been stuck due to Covid since March!  But there will be a time when those restrictions are lifted...now is a time to plan for the adventures we will have when that time arrives.  I know that Annika and I want to visit E when we travel again!  We also hope that she will come here too!  Maybe even twice a year, who knows.  

Everything is possible for she who has faith

~Namaste

Lilac






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