Family

When I was 21 I moved to Oregon. I had only met these people once or twice in my life but Karen was my grandmas baby sister and her and her husband Al took me in as family when I moved here, let me live in their home for free with my dog Kylo, establish residency using their address so I could get in state tuition at the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!), and included me in family events and get together like I had been part of their family my whole life. 

They were so welcoming and accepting. It was a little foreign to me as my own family and upbringing had been filled with dysfunction. Their home reminded me of my grandparents home though and I am so appreciative of their willingness to adopt me for a season. After I got married and started a family of my own, I didn’t visit as often as I could have and I regret that. It was hard for me to feel welcome and accepted because of my own insecurities, not because of anything they ever said or did.

When my dad passed a year and a half ago, the Lord really impressed on me the importance of family, and gleaning from the generations that came before us. I reached out to Karen and her daughter Ceil. Her husband Al had already passed and daughter Kelly also.

I took the kids down to Albany last year to visit around Christmas time, and then went by myself a few months ago to spend some more time with Karen. Last month I learned that her health had taken a turn for the worse and that she was coming home on hospice. I was able to make another trip down to Albany a couple weeks ago and spend the morning with her, looking through old photo albums and taking about her favorite travel memories from her past. It was a really special time. She passed away Sunday night surrounded by her family, and I’m just so grateful to have known her and been able to glean wisdom from her in her last days. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1As9MadaZcg-2hpJrFIZxh085s3pNMxWY

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