Morning Coffee

I'm at my parents home.  After a 26 hour drive (yes, insane I know!), we arrived and have had an onslaught of people.  Last night our weary little girl passed out early and finally got a good night's sleep.  So here I sit typing this, with a huge mug of coffee next to me.  My daddy has Nora, rocking her and singing her a song by Willie Nelson that he used to sing to me at bedtime when I was a little girl.  It's surreal.  I need to have him record these songs.  Some I've found myself singing to Nora at home. 

I like living further from our families.  We're close, but can clash, and it gives us the space to figure out our own family ways and makes coming back more special.  But it is nice to come here.  To have my daughter fall in love with her Uncle Brian while he amuses her so I can get a moment alone.  To see her light up, absolutely delighted when she sees her GiGi (great-grandmother, my grandmama).  To see this family take her and wrap up around her and just love on her.

The truth is this has been a rough year with family relationships.  We're all adjusting as we get older.  I miss being close to my oldest brother, but realize that it may not happen again.  I'm learning to accept that my baby brother is now legally an adult and I'm so proud to watch him find his feet.  And my mother is learning to adjust as we one by one are leaving the nest.  But it can be tense at times, and too often I feel like I don't know what to say.  I sometimes wish we lived closer for the community aspect, but know that my sanity needs us further away right now. 

We're still finding our feet in Charm City too.  We've made friends and walked away from friendships, so our community there is still very small.  Which makes coming back here bittersweet as we meet up with friends we've had forever and realize that we miss that sort of community, or people you would trust with your child's life. 

So I'm thinking of ways to take a bit of this home.  I've thought of an excellent Christmas thing to work on, now just to figure out the details. 

Do you live near family?  If not, how do you form a family like community where you are?