The Thread That Weaves Us Together

My brother and his family live in Chicago. But for this weekend, they were Texans. Cousins make me happy. They play, they giggle and they find true joy in being together.


My nieces are beautiful. Fortunate for them, they look nothing like my brother.


We partied. We ate. We played games. We had fun.


We also had a water balloon fight that transferred to a car wash.


These last 3 days, we have soaked up as much cousin love as possible. All 8 girls in one big pile.


There is something definitively more remarkable about being with family. It's entirely different than everyday friendships. It's closer. The bond woven tighter. These 8 are varied in personality and age. Some live in different states. But yet, when they all come together, the distance seems to disappear.

At the core of being together is something not seen on the surface. It is a thread that weaves through them all and ties each one to the next. It's a thread that can't be severed. Ever. It's a thread that seems to stretch to include each member. Growing in length when a new addition arrives. When a trial seems to surface anywhere within this circle, the thread instinctively cinches everyone tighter together, so that we may hold one another up. The strength of us all together is far greater than each of us on our own.

For this weekend, I seemed to catch a glimpse of that thread. I saw it in laughter, in hugs and in sad goodbyes. The distance may be far, but I'm quite positive that our family circle will stretch to fill in all the gaps.