girl talk

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.

~ Desmond Tutu

Last night I went to a Mother-Daughter Banquet. Nothing unusual about that, except for the fact that my mother passed away years ago and my daughter lives 5000 miles away. Still, I was not alone. Pictured above are the women at my table. Fortunately, I am lucky enough to be related to all of them.

Our ages spanned eight decades; left to right are me, Madison(my great niece), Ally (my great niece), my sister Sharon, Lily(my great niece), Krista(my niece) and Jane(my mother-in-law). The food was not going to win any five star awards, and the entertainment probably won't be signing recording contracts, but I had a lovely evening. I have been blessed with a mother-in-law that is loved and admired by everyone and my conversations with Lily about Barbie hats, Sponge Bob and preschool happenings were highly stimulating.

I used to dread that phone call around the end of April because I knew it was coming..."Do you want to go to the Mother-Daughter Banquet?". I would go, more for my husband's sake (after all, I'd tell him, she's your mother) than anything else. I go now without hesitation. Life and time are precious. I know there will come a day when the phone rings around the end of April, but it won't be my mother-in-law, and I won't be joining some of the women I love the most for dinner.