Hold Tight and Fly: When the Relatives Came

I know this might just shock you, but there is yet another children’s book that has come to my mind recently. This week my parents came to visit from Wednesday evening to Saturday morning and it was absolutely wonderful to have them here! And so, of course, a wonderful visit deserves a wonderful children’s book quote and here it is:

"The relatives weren’t particular about beds, which was good, since there weren’t any extras. So a few squeezed in with us, and the rest slept on the floor, some with their arm thrown over the closest person, some with their arms thrown across one person and a leg across another. It was different, going to sleep with all that new breathing in the house.The relatives stayed for weeks and weeks. They helped us tend the garden, and they fixed any broken things they could find. They ate up all our strawberries and melons, then promised we could eat up all their grapes and peaches when we came to Virginia. But none of us thought about Virginia much. We were so busy hugging and eating and breathing together."

Well, I suppose my parents only stayed for a few days and there were only two of them and they slept in an itty-bitty single bed that I landed on every morning to wake them up and they didn't come from Virginia and they didn't come close to eating up all our food. But, otherwise, Cynthia Rylant's account of visiting family from her book, The Relatives Came, was pretty much spot-on. While my parents were here we laughed and told stories and ate the wonderful, amazing, delicious goat cheese they brought from home to share with everyone here. They helped work on a broken-down community van, move wood from a sawmill and helped out with my English class twice (during which we nearly laughed ourselves off of our chairs... and may, or may not, have learned a thing or two) and did dishes with some of the oldest and youngest members of the community.

I know they have plenty of work back home waiting for them with firewood to haul, hungry critters to feed and milk, lesson plans to make, and a brand new Koko to housetrain, so I was so very grateful to have them here for a little while. Our life here is a little strange and pretty hard to explain no matter how many Sunday phone calls you exchange or pictures you show or long discussions that you have. So it was good to have them here to see what on earth this wild daughter of theirs has gotten herself into this time and to spend some quality time together. Thank you Mama and Papa for being so wonderful! I love you!