i am the oldest of eight, and most of my family lives in the midwest, so life here in michigan has been full of time with family.

games of yahtzee with my mom. games of rook with my mom and my grandparents. games of boggle with my mom and my sister. hikes with my dad. photo outings with my sister. sunday dinner at my parents’ house followed by games – usually with my parents, sister, grandparents, and brother & sister-in-law & nephew. playtime with my nephew. afternoons at my grandparents’ house – cleaning or putting up holiday garland or chatting while atlas snores on the couch. time with my brothers. two weeks of hugs and bubbles and books and “auntie nibby!” with savannah at christmas. a holiday full of family, food, games, and laughter. a kitty for atlas.

my mom is going to teach me how to bake bread and sew and quilt. my dad is teaching me about trees and showing me all the trails i missed when i was young.

there is lots and lots of time for conversation.

two years ago, i realized that one of the things that is most important to me is relationships.

at the time, i was thinking specifically about friendship, so i spent more time with the friends i already had and invested time and energy into making new ones.

but my family is incredibly important to me, and i am finding that this move i never expected to make is full of unexpected relationship blessings.

(my family plays games. i think i’ve played more games in the three months since i’ve been here than i’ve played in the entire 13 years i was away. in related news, my goal in life is to beat my sister at boggle. the last time we played, i think the score was 51 to 7.)