The underlying "why" to everything I do is my daughters and keeping my family together even when we live far apart.
My goals are to be able to visit them whenever I want, help them out emotionally, and if need be financially, and be a big part of their lives. Is that too much to ask?
It’s honestly ok that they live far away. Actually, I’m super proud of the lives they are creating for themselves.
The bottom line is, I want to be close enough to hear about the REAL stuff, not just the surface stuff.
A few weeks ago, we all including one boyfriend, met in Vegas. Vegas is halfway between where they both live now.
It was so nice to be with them especially when they were excited to be there, too.
If your kids have reached the age of teenagers, you know that’s not always the way it is. If they’re younger than that, enjoy and revel in every moment that you’re still everything!
To me, it never matters where we meet them as long as we are all together. We rented a condo, and even though we were in the midst of the Vegas strip, there was a lot of good family time, and some good laughs, too.
It was a whirlwind weekend mainly because we fit so much in from exchanging gifts to dinners, and of course, some sightseeing. I mean it was still Vegas.
Two events stood out to me as my favorite and most memorable moments of the weekend.
One night, when my youngest daughter woke up in the middle of the night with so much on her mind that she couldn't get back to sleep. She woke me around 4:00 am, and we sat together in some big chairs of our 37th-floor condo overlooking the strip. The lights of the city were incredible, as she rested her head on my shoulder.
There she shared with me all the things on her mind and the decisions she was struggling with. I listened, and we discussed some things and around 5:30 she was ready to go back to bed.
She got up and said, "thank you, this was the best part of the trip." She'll never know just how true that was for me, too.
Someone asked me how you can have quality family time in Vegas. I believe quality family time happens where your family is.
My older daughter, Lilly, left Sunday afternoon, and Lana, on Monday.
Sunday night we ordered in pizza and watched movies. That evening, Lilly called wanting to know what we were doing. When I talked to her later in the week, she said she was sad and wished she had stayed Sunday, too. I wished she did, too.
Not every family event is in Vegas, but no matter where you are, the magic of the moment usually happens when you least expect it. These moments were my magic. 💎