I love Chicago in the summertime. I really do. When we move away from here, I am going to miss the amazing parks, the bike friendly atmosphere (Lily’s new favorite activity is going on “bisheekle wides” with Daddy), the parks, the long hours of daylight, summer days at the library, and the parks. Did I mention the parks? I know there will be things that I will want to take with me and will miss so much, but man oh man…it was good to be back home.
The hubs and I braved a cross-country trip with a six-month old and a toddler, and even though it’s great to be back and not living out of a suitcase, this was one of the most refreshing vacations I think I have ever been on. We didn’t even do that much, so I’m not sure why it sticks out as one of my favorite trips, except for the one obvious thing: family. I know that families are the people in your life that you are stuck with, can push your buttons like nobody else, the people who you are not always your best self around. I know that when you turn 18, you usually can’t wait to leave family and set out on your own course. It’s probably a good thing to do. But this trip made me realize all over again how much family means to me and how desperate we feel to get back closer to them again.
With family in mind, here are my top five favorite memories from this particular trip home:
1. Seeing our girls meet their cousins.
I really hate being the aunt and uncle that my nieces and nephews barely know. It breaks my heart to know that the girls are growing up not really knowing their cousins. That’s why it was so refreshing to watch them interact for some of the first times together. Lily, who is two, can be a bit of a loner when it comes to play. It was still fun watching her play alongside her cousins. She could stand at the water table and pour water on her 18-month cousin all day. And it was also a hoot to watch her older cousin, who is 5, dominate the playtime together and coerce Lily into tea times and other play situations she wouldn’t normally participate in.
2. Going through old photo albums with my mother.
I think we are probably all guilty of having piles upon piles of unlabeled photo albums and photographs lying around. My sister, who was in the process of moving, had a couple of boxes of photo albums from both sides of the family. One day my mother and I sat down together and started going through some of the albums together, she identifying the unnamed people that she remembered and telling me stories about them, and I labeling them with as much info as I could. What a special way to spend time together! I know so little about my mom’s side of the family, and it was amazing to hear these stories about these people I had never known. It makes me sad to think that my mother is the last of her side of the family that probably can tell us about the people who shaped her into the person she is, and in turn, helped shape me into who I am. I wish we had started this project at the beginning of the week instead of the end, but I very much look forward to getting back to it the next time I am home.
3. Grabbing a few family portraits while we were there.
We were lucky enough to do this on both sides of the family. My husband’s family is much more organized than mine, and they had planned it all out months in advance: the date, the time, what to wear. My family did an impromptu photo session in the backyard on our last evening there just before dinner. Both sessions meant a lot. I think the last time I got photos with my sisters was about 10 years ago!
4. Going through albums and family history with my mother-in-law.
She is so organized and I loved the way she had sorted through her family photos. She has an album that goes back generations, and she has chosen a few favorite images of each person in her family, enough to tell their personal story of their lives. We spent an evening looking through her album, and she also showed me some of her family heirlooms that she has kept in a chest for many years. I absolutely love making children’s clothes, and I was completely googly-eyed over some little handmade and embroidered baby clothes that she and her mother wore when they were infants. So sweet!
5. This picture.
Because even if it is family, it doesn’t get any creepier than this. Also, my husband hates dolls. I think this may just appear framed on our stairway one of these days…
Hug your families. Watch the kids play and take a moment to enjoy them while they are still kids. Take some photos of your family at home together. Take time to tell the stories of loved ones with each other. Enjoy every minute of it.
Christina Freeman specializes in family, newborn, children and maternity portraits in the Dallas, TX and surrounding areas including Lewisville, The Colony, Richardson, Addison, Plano, Prosper, Frisco, Allen, Wylie, McKinney, Princeton and other Dallas, TX suburbs.
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