It's after midnight on a Thursday night, and I just finished a book that made me miss my father more than I have since he died, made me grateful for my brothers and the safety they bring to my life, and made me ache with love for my sons. The book is entitled And The Mountain Echoed by Khaled Hosseimi and I strongly recommend it. It tells a multi-layered story of inter-related families whose lived were impacted by the various wars in Afghanistan during the past 75 years. But, what it really does is examine the subtleties and intricacies of how families are made, survive and, sometimes, thrive... how the ties that bind are tighter than we often realize.
For me it was a renewed reminder the family is immensely important. How time together matters more than most anything else.... how without each other there is something missing .... how with each other we are stronger than without.
Once I turned the last page, and wiped the flood from my face, I had no option but to wake Luke up to tell him much he means to me and send a text to Jake telling him I loved him. Nothing else mattered at that moment but solidifying those ties, and reaffirming my commitment to and need of them.
Maybe I'm a just an emotional sap, or maybe the pieces are falling into place and the picture of what matters, really matters, is clearer now than ever before. Age will do that ... J
