Thursdays With Michael

For the past two weeks, my brother in law Michael and his girlfriend Cheryl have hosted Leah and I for dinner on Thursday nights.  My sister in law Christie also comes.  And tonight, Cheryl's sister Allison and her friend Randy also attended.

It's been so much fun, and even though Thursday night is normally my ladies wine night, I am feeling torn, since I love going to Michael and Cheryl's too.

In addition to the good food, plentiful wine (I see a pattern too; I choose to ignore it) and the great conversation, Leah gets to hang with her Aunts and Uncle and various other people.  And that's what makes me want to keep up this tradition the most.

When I was little, my mom had five brothers, four of which were younger than her.  My mom was 23 when she had me, so my Uncles were all quite young when I was born.  I remember a lot of good times with them, a lot of fun parties and experiences, and they were a very big part of my life.  For reasons that I won't go into now, mostly because I'm not even sure what those reasons are, I no longer speak to some of my Uncles, and it pains me deeply to know that close, loving relationships can sometimes be severed.  For good.  Forever.

With the death of my mom, and the loss of relationships with family members, I no longer take for granted the power of family and friendships and everything in between.  I try to give Leah as many opportunities as I can to spend time with different types of people, of all different ages, of all walks of life. 

And because of that, I am sad to report that I may be sticking with Thursdays with Michael, over Ladies Wine Night, while the invitation is still extended.  I know that the Ladies might not be happy with this, but they will understand.  If I've learned anything from losing my mother three years ago, it's that personal relationships are important, not only for myself, but for my child.  And my Ladies know that we can always have Tuesdays.  Or Saturdays.  Or both.

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