A Wonderful Weekend

Last Friday, with our green Nissan Altima loaded with suitcases, presents, car toys, a cooler of food, a twenty-pound dachshund, a lovely preschooler clutching her favorite Strawberry Shortcake pillow, and a sleepy eight-month-old baby boy, we began our trip to South Georgia to spend time with Napp's family.

Eight hours, three stops, two scream feasts, and about 352 "are we there yets" later, we arrived at Mema's farm exhausted and ready for a hearty dinner that would be shared with loved-ones. We also knew that our children would be whisked from our arms and smothered in "Southern Lovin'" while Napp and I decompressed from the journey and stretched our stiff limbs.

The weekend was short, but very sweet. Xylie enjoyed Mema's special 17 layer chocolate cake that she claimed as hers and playing with her cousins, Nannie, and other relatives. Zayden loved being outdoors staring at Mema's orange tree; and Carleigh exercised her olfactory senses by sniffing for critters. In addition to the yummy food and fun family conversations, Napp and I were grateful to get some extra sleep. I think it is fair to say that not only the kids got spoiled on this trip.

Napp's family is a lot of fun. I get a kick out of learning a new Southern saying each time I'm there. And, as someone who struggles with perfectionism, I learned a lesson about family gatherings. At the Christmas party, much attention was given to the food and fellowship, but very little was paid to the decor. At first I found it a little strange when Napp's mom was not the least bit unnerved when realizing that they forgot to buy Christmas paper ware. Without missing a beat she set the table with graduation and birthday themed napkins, some holly printed paper bowels and every day dinner plates. In my world of event planning and "party perfection", forgetting a detail like matching table decor is heart-stopping. But as I watched the farm house crowded with holiday cheer and love I was stuck by how no one cared about those minute details. And I'm sure that when my guests come to one of my parties that they probably wouldn't care either. People come to family events for each other, not to put their chips and dip on a Santa's Hat plate and wipe their mouths with a matching napkin. Don't get me wrong, I still love the details, but I am going to try harder to not stress the next time I miss one...or several for that matter.

On Sunday morning with our tummies round from consuming a traditional country breakfast, we somehow managed to load that same green Nissan Altima with even more items and made the trip back home to Summerville.