I received a terrifically delightful homemade card from my niece yesterday that warmed my heart. ... And I just have to tell you about "Z."
To be specific, "Z," or Zoey which is her given name, is my great-niece, the daughter of my sister Deb's oldest son. And prior to a couple of years ago we didn't know each other very well. But circumstances, some good, some not so good have given us the opportunity to spend more time together than ever before.
You see, one of the perils of a large family that is spread across the entire country is that you just don't get to see each other as you would like. And being my sister is almost 20 years older than I am, and left the house as a young woman before I even came along, we never grew up together. My sister chased the love of her life to north-central Michigan where they farmed for many decades before finally giving up the farm life for things more stable. But combine the years of being tied to the farm and just making end meet, and my sister didn't get home as often as she would have liked. And then as a young man, just trying to make his way and feed a young family, I never got to Michigan much to see my sister either. So years and years and years passed.
We would share cards and letters and phone calls, of course. But both my sister and I were busy raising kids (and grand kids in her case), feeding bellies and trapped in the day-to-day wheel of getting by.
But a few years ago, starting with my mother's 80 birthday, things started to change. My sister made sure that she was home for my mom's big celebration in which all eight of us living kids threw her a party to remember. So she was home for a week then. And then there were a couple of my mom's surgeries that she came home for, and a couple of other trips as well. And then a year and a half ago, my sister's husband, Dave, passed away pretty unexpectedly, and so I spent a week with her in Michigan. And then our brother passed away this summer, and we spent about 10 days together then. ... All told, I've seen my sister more in the past four years then I have for most of my life, which is a blessing, a true silver lining to all of the troubled waters we've recently navigated together, along with our other siblings.
Anyway, more to the point: During many of these trips, Zoey was in my sister's back pocket. She started traveling young (she's now 16) with her nana, and she's kept a watchful eye on her ever since. And so during all of my sister's recent trips, and my trip to Michigan last year, I've gotten to spend a lot of time with "Z," and we've hit it off. ... I mean, it's inevitable. Anyone who meets her, loves her. But as her nana and parents tell me, she reserves her closest relationships to just a few people, and somehow I've become one of the lucky ones.
Simply put ... "Z" is a joy. ... Now, her nana and parents do inform me that she can also be quite head strong, but luckily as a great-uncle I don't have to perform any of the parenting! ;-)
"Z" is funny and caring and a hard worker. And we have in common a shared love of animals ... pretty much all animals. In fact, even as a teenager, she has her own menagerie that she cares for, including a cat, a turtle, a hamster, two pot-bellied pigs, goats, chicken, ducks and donkeys. She receives some help with the animals, of course, but honestly she's up before school to care for them and then goes out again at night before bed. She's a one woman zoo keeper, I often tell her.
I'm not even quite sure how we hit it off. I can't remember back to the early days of our friendship even just a few years ago, because nowadays it just seems that "Z" and I have been close all her life. I know that's not true on a practical level, of course, but that's what it feels like.
Anyway, we now periodically write to each other, and talk on the phone once in a while when I am visiting with my sister, and of course, we share a lot back and forth on social media. For all of the well-deserved animosity directed toward social media platforms, I have to say it makes staying in touch with my many nieces and nephews spread all through the country possible.
Well, yesterday I received in the mail a homemade card from "Z." This is a hobby that she picked up from my sister, who makes not only her own cards for family and friends, but also makes one-of-a-kind, custom cards to sell.
In "Z's" card, as you can see in the headline photo, a squirrel is pictured trapped up in a tree, surrounded by a bear and a moose. When you open the card, you are treated to a four panel story board that goes on to tell the story of how the three of them become friends and "ate berries together for the rest of their lives."
The card is the most delightful, Spirit-filled gift that I've received in some time, and I am so grateful that "Z" would think of me to send it to. It is now hanging in my home office as a reminder of faith, family and friendship. ... I am remarkably lucky to have such a friendship with my great-niece, and I am blessed to have dozens and dozens more nieces and nephews. And I tell you what, I'm learning that one of the greatest aspects of growing older is understanding the importance of these relationships.
We all have limited time, but it's the personal investments we make in each other that are worth their weight in gold. And, that is why today, I am finding faith in a homemade card from my awesome niece. ... Thank you "Z"! ... Love you!
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