A Good Visit (February 2024)

I deeply appreciated Tim sacrificing money and time and vehicle wear and tear to make so many whirlwind trips up their first year of marriage. The drive is exhausting, our house is probably exhausting, and since the trips almost always entail an event like a shower or wedding or a party, the weekend is anything but restful, but being able to see Annika every 2 months, sometimes more often, kept some of us afloat. 

Someone told me around this time that it's wonderful for newlyweds to get far away from their parents and start fresh, using their own experience as an example. In some ways, that may be true, but what they failed to understand was that without even taking close friends and local relatives into account, Annika (and then Mildred seven months later) was also leaving an unborn sister, younger siblings she adored, and two of her best friends, all in one household. Having a family with ties this close is a gift. It also makes some things hard. No stage of life can or should last forever, and I'm thankful the girls are skillful women who confidently run their households without needing to cling to my apron strings (did you ever, Mildred? 😂), but it's not as simple as "They're independent now!" when the ties involve so many people that one loves. 

These pictures of Millie sitting in her corner, giving Annika crocheting tips while Birdie perched nearby filled up my heart. They're crummy pictures, and there are piles of laundry hanging about, but it made me happy to see these girls enjoying each other for a window of time.