Family is the best!

I left on Tuesday for Dallas, Texas.  My sister Gayle and I have planned another trip together.  We have wanted to go to Texas together for a couple years but knew we wanted to avoid the heat and humidity of summer.  We have cousins on our father’s side and an uncle on our mother’s side that we really wanted to see.  Plus, we wanted to experience Big Bend National Park.  We will spend 15 days together, seeing what we can experience in this large state.

I flew into Dallas' Love Field and Gayle drove down from Kansas to pick me up.  As soon as she left home it began to rain.  Kansas has been enduring a severe drought.  The last couple times Gayle and I have traveled together we have been caught in some dramatic weather conditions.  As she left home she said to her husband, “Next time we need rain, Susan and I should plan a trip together.”  Gayle drove through rain all the way from Kansas to Love Field.  

We are staying with our cousin, Moana, and her husband, Kyle, for two nights.  Shortly after we arrived at their home her brother, John, joined us as we sat around the table and caught up.  I love these cousins.  They have a profound love of family and an amazing gift of hospitality.  

This morning, Gayle and I woke up to the smell of bacon frying, coffee brewing and an egg casserole baking in the oven.  Moana’s sister, Patty, and her sister-in-law, Barbara, joined us for breakfast.  Then we headed out to the Dallas Arboretum.  I had read about it online.  It sounded amazing and it was even better than I imagined.  

There was a tasting garden, the produce of which is used in their restaurants.  The whole garden was decorated for fall with mums and what must have been over 100,000 pumpkins.  There were pumpkins everywhere…pumpkins, squash and gourds of every color, size and variety.

We enjoyed the “Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” area, oohing and aahing over the topiary bushes in the shapes of the Peanuts’ Characters.  Each character had their own home made of pumpkins.

It was a lovely fall day.  The rain had cleared up and left everything freshly washed and beautiful, with a gentle breeze blowing.  It was quite magical.

I had read about the Women’s Garden and we took a quick turn through it.  

By then we were tired and ready to head out.  We stopped by the home of Moana’s daughter, Vonnie.   We played with her two French Bulldogs.  Gayle was properly licked from head to toe. 

By then it was lunch time.  We went to Hudson House.  If you are ever in Dallas and want a delicious meal served with quality ingredients, you can’t go wrong.  Gayle and I watched with delight and envy the relationship of Moana, Barbara and Patty.  It made us wish again that we lived closer to each other.  Family is so important and this family knows that truth and nourishes the bonds between them.

After lunch Gayle and I took naps in anticipation of more family time in the evening.  We all gathered together again, this time at Patty's home.  We met her husband Mark for the first time.  He is a lovely man and the meal was delicious. 

After dinner, we five women lingered at the table, talking about the challenges of the aging female body.  I giggled and laughed and I relished what a gift it is to be with family having real discussions about real things.