In My Life, I've Loved You More

My weekend has been incredible. Besides all of the hassle that's surrounding my life, I had such a great time this weekend. Spent time with family and friends, and outside in the amazing weather. Monterey has been 80 degrees all weekend--nearly unheard of. It put me in such a great mood.

I'm realizing more and more every day how blessed I am with my wonderful family. I spent yesterday and today with my cousins, Lisa and Leah. Lisa is the oldest of the cousins has always been my buddy. She was the cousin I wanted to hang out with when I was little and she is still the fun yet protective one. Leah and I are the closest in age and I have always loved spending time with her. I love when she visits. Both Lisa and Leah's dad's passed away within two years of each other. It was very difficult on all of us but especially on them and their families. Today Leah and I had the opportunity to talk about her dad and it was an amazing experience. I always want to talk about and hear stories about her dad, my Uncle Rob, but I usually have to wait until family functions or an old family friend comes over and even then I have to eavesdrop on conversations. She and I talked for nearly an hour about him and his life and how much we missed him but how awesome he was. He lived with us for the last 6 months of his life and Leah told me how grateful she was that my family had him living with us and acknowledged how difficult and painful it must have been for us. It was not an easy year for us. He had some really great and some really scary moments. Many scares but many laughs. I'm not going to pretend that it didn't affect me--I still can't hear people coughing in the middle of the night without immediately thinking of him and I'll never forget my fears--but it was also rewarding. I spent more time with him and learned more about him in those 6 months than I ever had before. It was so nice to spend time with her today.

I've also heard many stories this weekend about families splitting up, kids going to rehab, kids witnessing death, and other life altering stories. One girl in Salinas recently was in a car accident where her two best friends were killed and less than 2 months later witnessed the death of a friend's grandfather. I can't even imagine how she is feeling and my heart aches for her. I don't know if you can call my uncles' deaths "lucky" but I can say that I was fortunate to have been away when both of them passed away. All of these families that have so much to deal with make me even more appreciative of the incredible family (and by family, I include my amazing friends without whom I would be lost in the world) I have been blessed with. Nothing compares to their love.