It's a Small World After All

One family, on their way home on furlough, flew 20 hours stopping in LA for "a first time in Disneyland" with their kids. One family drove 12 hours from Colorado with kids, excited to meet up with their cousins. The third family flew out of Bellingham with a baby, while we got on the I-5 for a 20 hour drive, with a vehicle to leave for the first family.
This is how the world around us became smaller for a few days. It’s amazing how quickly the miles that separate can dissipate into a distant memory as we take up residence with rooms close together.
A place where the cousins can run into each other’s rooms and play make believe - like they always have done so. A place we can sit around a long table, where everyone wants to sit beside each other and not miss a thing - but probably someone always does. A place where the reality of the ties that bind a family can overwhelm you when you least expect it . . .

Papa usually seen with some grands in tow . . .

Auntie not giving up till she gets a smile . . .

The plain comfort while hanging out . . .

Or in being held . . .

Total trust …

Seeing things through their eyes . . .

And sometimes having to put up with plain goofiness.

It’s a place where little girls dream of being princesses, big boys become little boys and little boys become big boys.

Sometimes dreams really do come true.