This summer in Alaska has been chilly, rainy, and well, not anything I was expecting. We were spoiled last year by all the sun, record breaking temps, and events. This year was kind of a bust. Although we have made huge strides while here. The highlights of this summer have been our trip to Anchorage, Michael playing soccer, Anthony playing tackle football, and our two guests from New York.
Our first guest was my father. I was so nervous. I had not seen him in 2 years and 7 months. When I was living in Hawaii, he was not in a position to travel. When we were in Florida in between duty stations he was in the process of running his harness racing business, so when I came to Alaska I really believed I might not see him until we left. Luckily for me, my husband bought my dad his ticket. No excuses not to come now, right? Let me just say that this is the first time in 14 years that I have had my dad back. He was funny, loving, energetic, compassionate, entertaining, and the man I always remember him being before my mom passed. Typically when we (myself, Rob, and/or the kids) travel to NY, I am crunched for time, I have to share him with many others, and he's always stressed. He's usually always running around doing chores and making other people happy that you rarely get to have some one-on-one time. BUT NOT THIS TIME! I sit here in tears at how happy that one week we had here in Alaska made me. Although there were some hiccups with travel itineraries and other annoyances, I would not have changed it for anything.
As I type this, everyone is sleeping. Including my sister in law who leaves later tonight. It was great having her visit. She was able to spend quality time with her nephews, makes fun of her brother, and we got to share some girl time. Which in this case meant lots of coffee talks, shopping, dying each other's hair, and working out. Usually when we get her to visit, like the time she came to Hawaii and Florida, they are jammed packed with activities. Well in Fairbanks, AK there is not as much to do. So it was a little bit more relaxed and I am kind of glad it was.
I am not sure what it is anymore. Maybe I am just getting older? Maybe I view things differently? I just view time as so much more precious then I used to. I look at the loved ones in my life and I just want to be selfish and spend more time with them, and then there are people who I wish lived closer so I could have that also. On the bright side we love having visitors and never mind having friends and family stay with us. So who is coming next?
My point is this. Make time for those that matter. Social media does not really count. That means pick up the phone, send a card, and if you can make a trip to see the person do it. No great stories start with "remember that day on Facebook..."Then the next important part that I constantly have to remind myself is that no one can make choices for me and I cannot make their life choices for them.
