Kiss Your Miracle

Almost everyone in my extended family drinks coffee obsessively and any drop-by guests are an immediate excuse for a coffee break. I have countless childhood memories of my mom and Aunt Mary deciding to have a “quick” coffee break together after school, which usually meant an hour or two of playtime for us with our cousins.

Sometimes I think that’s what I miss most about living near my family – all the time to sit and talk face to face. Adam and I travel north to see them as much as we can and it’s great to have our vacation weeks with them. But each trip is a major excursion involving the effort to plan and pack, long travel, and days off work for Adam, which means we can only do it a couple times a year. It’s all more than worth it of course, and I count down the days before each trip. But we still only get that day-to-day interaction for a short while before we have to pack up again and come home. There are many days I find myself alone in the kitchen with my kids, wishing for a random, unscheduled coffee break with family.

Maybe that’s why I appreciated this past Saturday morning so much. My Uncle Bervin and Aunt Mary called and said they were in Florida, passing through Ocala on their way to Sanibel Island. “We’d love to stop by for a few minutes and meet the baby,” they said. “Of course!” I said immediately. Thirty minutes later they were in our house. Mary cuddled Micah up in her arms and we all sat down with coffee and the donuts they’d brought with them.

My mom always tells me not to want what I don’t have. “Just gratefully receive what you’re given,” she says. So that’s what I’m trying to do. It was just one hour with a bit of my family, but it was special to me.