Tonight I drove for two hours to the family farm, my parents’ house. I am home for a family reunion tomorrow. We are expecting rain, so a group of about 30 relatives will be gathered in the house. My mother is the consummate hostess. She truly has a gift for hosting gatherings in her home.

My family is of Norwegian origin, and Norwegian flags are dispersed throughout my parents’ home. It will be a pot luck with several of my mother’s cousins. I don’t know my mother’s side of the family, so essentially, I will be meeting new people tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.

I’m taking one of my weekend days to travel home, and as much as I would rather lounge at home on a Sunday, I know this event is important to my mother. She convinced me to come home when she said she wants all of her children and grandchildren in family photos.

There’s not much more to report. Being home on the farm is always a calming experience for me. My parents’ home is beautiful. They remodeled a few years ago, and I am impressed that my mother gave herself the gift of the home she had dreamed about all those years of raising four children.

I am sleeping in my childhood bedroom tonight. Memories of childhood are enhanced here. There truly is no place like home. I will check in tomorrow and let you know how time with family is going. Until then, it is time for me to retreat to the bedroom.

Until tomorrow, all my love!