Excitement

This weekend I will be seeing my brother, sisters, and parents all at the same time for the first time in over 2 years!  I can't quite put into words how exciting this is.... but I'll try anyways.  

Every summer of my childhood I spent a good 2 weeks packed into a van, with all of my siblings and parents, driving to and from Nova Scotia for the summer.  That was excitement.  We were all so anxious about getting to the beach where we could run around and play all day, walk to Craig's for copious amounts of ice cream on a daily basis, swim in the ocean, and be with our friends and family for the summer.  Little did I know that the drive to and from would be one of the greatest parts of the whole vacation.  Four kids, two parents, a dog, and whatever filled our suitcases at the time would ride up in a minivan for 4-6 days straight.  We would visit relatives and friends along the way, stop at various hotels for the night, play the ever-beloved license plate game or eye-spy, sleep on each other, and listen to various books on tape.  By the end of the drive we'd seen about 10 states and 2 countries, and we were ready to get out of the car.   

What I wouldn't give to spend that much time with my family these days... even if it had to be spent packed in a minivan.  Our time together has grown scarce, yet all the more cherished.  Our places of residence include Wyoming, Texas, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Ontario.  Notice the fact that there are 5 different places and 6 members of our family.  Growing up is ever so bittersweet due to these inevitable times when we all find our own pathways.  However we'll always have that set of memories that our parents facilitated during our migratory travels to Nova Scotia every summer to unite us.  We'll always be the Mahoney family, and we'll always love each other.  

Times like this approaching weekend, when we'll all be together to celebrate as an extended family, really make top priority in my book.  Although I hate the fact that I get to spend such little time with my siblings, it makes the time when we are all together ever so anticipated and valued.  My family has come to grow separately, but never will we grow apart.   

Needless to say, I am filled with excitement for this weekend right now.  It's the same kind of excitement that I was filled with as a kid going up to Nova Scotia on a roadtrip with all of my siblings, but this time it's for something more similar to the car ride itself.