Family

Tomorrow my brother Marty travels back to Coeur d'Alene, after spending the entire weekend with me. It was so much fun, and we were busy from the time we both eventually rolled out of our beds to the time we said goodnight. Today I thought about opting out of a few invites so I could get other things done but at the last minute thought – hey why not?

This particular invitation was to lunch with my brother's son's girlfriend's parents. Got that? 

See, Marty came to Boise so he could visit me and our other brother, then drive his son (my nephew, Jake) back home to get ready to go back to the university. I met Jake's girlfriend Taylor on Sunday, and today Jake wanted to introduce my brother to Taylor's parents.

I told Marty it sounded serious, and he just laughed, a bit nervously. After all, both kids are not quite twenty years old, but seem quite smitten with each other. Anyway, the six of us had a wonderful time getting to know each other.

We then spent the afternoon with my older brother and his wife. He's had some very serious illnesses the past several weeks, spending almost two weeks during two visits to the hospital just before Christmas and just before New Year's Day. He's recovering well now, which is great. We went to see some property they own that they hope to build on in the near future. You could hear the excitement in his voice as he talked about those plans.

Then Marty bought me dinner at a favorite Mexican restaurant, and we topped the evening off by visiting my niece and her family at their new-to-them house. After a fun time talking to them and seeing almost every toy and costume their kids had (they are so cute!) we headed back to my house.

Marty leaves tomorrow. It's been a great visit – he's an awesome guest. And I will miss him.

So today, all the plans I had for organizing, cleaning, writing, editing... they all went out the door. Instead I spent time with family and friends, and the entire day passed so quickly. Life is too short. More specifically our lives are too short. We need to be with the ones we love while we can, and support the dreams of our friends and families. Tomorrow is never guaranteed, but today is already here and waiting.

I can edit tomorrow. I can write tomorrow. Today was for family and for memories.