A family wedding and a jumble of emotions

I was in Minnesota over the weekend, to celebrate with my dad as he married his new love. It was a strange whirlwind of a weekend, full of large family gatherings and a jumble of conflicting emotions. The loss of my mother, who passed away not quite two years ago, felt as fresh as the day of her funeral as I watched my dad’s new bride go down the aisle. At the same time, I was glad for him. Glad that God brought a new woman into his life, someone to share in whatever adventures and challenges lay ahead.

To be honest, I’m still trying to make sense of this new reality, and if I tried to sort it all out in an essay for this newsletter, I’d be here all day. So, instead, I want to share with you a tiny glimpse into my childhood, made possible by my mother’s tendency to save everything.

Like books…

Our family’s copy of my favorite Dr. Suess book, IF I RAN THE CIRCUS. This was in a box of books that my dad gave to my brother, and my brother graciously allowed me to keep it.

And drawings…

Sketch of the week: This is a drawing I did when I was ten. I had no clue my mother still had this until we began going through boxes (and boxes) of photos and other memorabilia she had kept over the years.

And lots and lots of photos…

This is a group photo from one of our Christmas parties that my dad’s side of the family held every year. It’s a big group, and it’s not even all of us.

This is just a tiny glimpse, not only into my childhood, but into the boxes and boxes of photos and memorabilia that my mother (and father, to be fair) had saved over the years. I wish I could have stayed in Minnesota longer, to immerse myself in my family’s past for a while. To reminisce with my brothers and sisters as we rediscovered pictures of our family pets, long-dead relatives, and trips to castles from our years in Germany. But I had to come home too soon. Instead, I sit here in my office, still a jumble of conflicting emotions, trying to figure out a way to close this newsletter, which seems to be taking me all day after all.

So I guess I’ll just leave it at that. Besides, there’s a cinnamon roll from IKEA calling my name.

In other news…

I have some exciting publishing news to share, but I think it deserves its own space, so I’ll be sending out a bonus newsletter later this week with a special announcement!