Thanks for Family

As has become our custom in the last decade, my mother's children, grandchildren and great-grand children gathered at the farm which had belonged to her parents.

As older daughter and I drove the thirty miles, we watched the sky begin to fill with gray, rolling clouds which were edged with black -- they were the kind we have not seen for months during this long drought. We crossed the creek near the big lake and were dismayed at the low levels of the water. We turned off the main highway onto the farm road just as the rain began and ran into the house in the welcomed showers.

There were some new faces this year; babies and weddings do that, you know. My sister, who is such a gentle and unflustered hostess, just pulls out another table and more chairs. She even found the time to read her favorite book to Lucy.

We are grateful for this close family, but, this year, a day of rain was the blessing most appreciated. We returned home with renewed spirits and a heightened sense of who we are.

AAB