Melodi, Jennifer and Me

I have spent more time with Melodi this past month than I have in the last ten years combined. That is a fact that I hate to admit and one that I am glad to rectify.  

Time is one of the main things that seems to escape my grasp so easily.  I can squander an afternoon or a year, without really noticing what I am doing. Once it is gone, I can not get it back.

I did that with Melodi. She has lived away from home for almost 10 years, in one fashion or another. Too many times, I let other factors cloud my vision and I missed opportunities to spend time with my youngest daughter. We saw each other but not often enough.


I go to bed with my list made for what I want to do the next day.  My inbox is always full. It should never be too full for family.

Like most people, I assume I have all the time in the world to visit friends and family.  All the time to write, to read and love the people in my life.  Without really realizing it, I squandered my time with Meodi.   Only now, do I understand the magnitude of that mistake.  However, I have been given a second chance and I intend to make the most of it.

It all began to manifest itself when  Melodi asked me to go on vacation with her and Jennifer, her life partner.  I jumped at the chance. We were taking a 2,400 mile road trip to Richmond, Virginia.  The girls were being transferred there and wanted to check the place out before they moved.

We were going to be together 24-7 for 7 days and nights.  I told Tommy that at the end of that trip, we would either love each other immensely or be sick of each other. 

It could not have been more fun!! Melodi and I picked up right where we had left off. Love was never a question with us.  We just needed time to be together. 

For Jennifer and myself, we needed to really get to know each other. We did and we found out that we really do like each other. We are alike in a lot of ways.  She is" Chicago City" and I am "Kentucky Country". That in itself is enough for a book!!! We all got the "tired giggles" about 6 p.m.  We ate each other's favorite meals. Listened to each others music and laughed so much. The trip probably turned out to be closer to 3,400 miles....we took a lot of side trips. At the end of our vacation, I can truthfully say that Jennifer is my fourth daughter. I love her. She is amazing and can make me laugh until I cry.  Truthfully, those two need their own "reality show"!!!!

Reality, according to the dictionary "reality" is the state of being "real". My family could not be more real. We have all had a crash course in life's lessons. Some were learned the hard way and at great expense.  But learned they were. We are a family filled with promise and bound by love.