It's no secret, my In-Laws drive me crazy much of the time. I could stop there, but I need to explain (or I may not be welcome for the holidays). They are loud, they carry on many conversations at once, they speak their minds, they don't know the meaning of personal space, they don't know how to pass food around the table, and they inhale and clear the table before I can even blink, I know, I know still not helping my case but keep reading. But one thing that I have come to truly cherish about them is that they love each other fiercely and they don't take one holiday, one vacation, one moment together for granted.
About fifteen years ago, my father-in-law had a Heart Attack. The kind that no one is supposed live through. The kind that the paramedics say they have never brought anyone back from. But this time they did, and he survived. Every few years he has some kind of episode or illness that lands him in the hospital and we are reminded over and over by doctors that there is little that they can do, he isn't even supposed to be here. Each time we begin to prepare for the worst, surely his damaged heart can't take much more. We rally around him, his wife, children, grandchildren, and each time he pulls through and slowly regains his health. He is stubborn and his life on this earth is nothing short of a miracle but, without this family, I don't think he would still be here.
All of the fifteen years that I have been with them, this family has spent every moment together as if it could be their last. Every week they gather for Sunday Supper and love each other loudly and fiercely. Every holiday, birthday, and life event is celebrated as if it could be the last time we are all together on this earth. Grandchildren have never taken these grandparents for granted. Even as they get older, they still show up. They know the reality, they have known it since they were young. They hear it in the crackle of grandma's voice as we hold hands around the table and she thanks God for yet another year together. Our time together is precious and this family never forgets that.
This is what I wish for my parents now and for Monte and I in the future. I know that sometimes as families, especially those who live close by, work together, and attend church together, it feels like we see too much of each other. But someday, those faces around the table will be there no longer and I hope that we, like my in-laws, can say we loved them fiercely and never took a moment for granted.
