Christmas 2007--
My last Christmas in Texas before my address changed to HERNING, DENMARK.
Seems a bit strange to think about Christmas, in the middle of April, but trust me....there is a reason!
My family was all together for Christmas 2007.
My sister and her family made the 3 hour drive from Oklahoma City to my parents' house in Fairview, Texas.... Mads flew 5000 miles from Herning to Fairview, Texas..... and Jess, Albert and I drove the 10 minutes from our home in Allen, Texas to Fairview.
We were all HOME at Mom and Dad's for Christmas.
This holiday was very important to our family because 2 months later, in February 2008, Jennifer, Steve, Campbell & Michael were moving from OKC to Crested Butte, Colorado....850 miles away from my parents.
And then the first week of June Jess was moving to her dad's to finish her last year of high school...... 140 miles away from my parents.
And as if that was not enough, on June 17 I was moving
5000 miles away to Herning, Denmark. Needless to say our family was about to experience MORE changes than it ever had before.....
So that was when we made the promise to our mom.
We promised that every year, no matter what, we would find a time and a place where we could all gather together as a FAMILY. We may not always be able to be together for Christmas or birthdays, but we WOULD find a time where all those miles that separate us could disappear, if only for a few days.
That first gathering was my last week in Texas, June 2008....
we all gathered at Mom and Dad's to celebrate Father's Day.
Our next time was Christmas 2009 when we all met at my sister's new home on the mountain in Crested Butte, Colorado.
Which means that we are just about due for another ROGERS' FAMILY GATHERING.... So on Saturday, April 16 we will all be meeting here:
Tybee Island.... a cozy beach resort island off the coast of Georgia in the Atlantic Ocean.....
Tybee Island is 30 minutes from Savannah and for a week, will be our home away from home.... our place where we all come together to keep our promise to our mom.
Our family has changed a bit since then.... some of us are thinner (my sister!!), some of us are NOT thinner (ME!), some of us have less hair (JESS!) and some of us have grown about 6 inches and now have a voice as deep as Barry White (Michael!). Plus we have added a couple of new family members to our group this time as Mads and I are bringing our niece, Rebecca, with us from Denmark. She is 15 and this is her first trip to the US! Jess is bringing her boyfriend, Jeff, to stay for a few days so he can meet the family and understand better why Jess is how she is! :-)
Oh yeah, and we are bringing one other "new" person.... This guy was the Dad we knew back in
Dec 07...the calm, quiet dad who let all the rest of us LOUD MOUTHED, OPINIONATED family members run the show.... but I think this time will be a bit different
because in case you have not heard, this guy:
is no longer "Mr Nice Guy". Instead he is the one in our family who is
KICKING CANCER'S ASS!
It's going to be a great trip! And one more fulfillment
of a promise that I am so glad we made!
5 comments:
This is a wonderful thing to promise your mom and good for you all for keeping that promise, i know it's not easy, especially with the distance you all have and busy lives but you care enough to make the effort...it's wonderful. I hope you have a fabulous trip!!
I am so blessed to have two beautiful daughters and 3 of the greatest grandkids in the world...not to mention a couple of pretty darn good son-in-laws. We are looking forward to a great family vacation soon. Tybee Island- ready or not - here we come! Safe travels to everyone!
What a great time you're all going to have!
I am so happy for you that you are able to all get together, especially with everything that is happening with your dad. Have a great time!
Have a great time! Enjoy your family time! And Sonic ice!
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