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Family Adventures
My grandmother always had a camera in her hand. As I spent her final years with her here in Florida one of her great joys was taking pictures and then anxiously waiting for them to be developed so she could show her friends or mail them to relatives. Even though I saw her every week she’d still have an envelope with my name on the outside and photos of our time together on the inside.
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It’s Thanksgiving! Let the cooking, eating and bickering begin.
“Lovely family time.” It’s what we say when we get annoyed with each other in the Rausin house. Now that my children are young adults they see us much differently than they did when they were little. Ahh, to be able to go back to the time when Eric and I could do no wrong… Nope, they see all our flaws and what’s worse–we raised them so they share many of those same flaws or should I say interesting personality traits. Here’s the story of this Thanksgiving. Or why Arielle’s at the grocery store Thanksgiving Eve at 8:17 pm. For the past few months Eric’s been excited about cooking with Arielle for Thanksgiving.…
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Magic Moments of Christmas
“The present moment is all you ever have. There is never a time when your life is not “this moment.” Eckhart Tolle Eric and I strolled the aisles of Target searching for the perfect gifts for Arielle and Kai. Both kids had told us one or two things they wanted for Christmas but were pretty nonchalant about the whole gift receiving tradition. We were clueless, asking each other if we thought Kai or Arielle would enjoy the gadget or goodie we spotted on the shelf. Both of us knowing gift cards were really the way to go but how exciting is opening up a gift card? You can’t play with…
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Family
Our family is all together!! Standing in the airport waiting for Arielle to arrive was a heartwarming experience. There were many of us waiting for loved ones. I watched as people laughed and hugged one another. I think the airport rivaled Disney World as being the happiest place on earth. We all climbed into the car and headed for the mall. We had three hours before our concert. Since Kai’s birthday was the next day Arielle decided to help him pick out a new wardrobe. I have no idea how my kids came to care about fashion. Eric and I are still wearing clothes from the 90’s. I tried to convince them…
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Indoor Skydiving
They all stared at me. “Will you do it?” My family is used to me saying, “no way!” They all have the adventure seeking gene. I have the gene that prefers to keep my two feet safely on the ground and my stomach from feeling as though it’s shooting out my mouth. I’m perfectly happy in the most peaceful situations like sitting on a beach with some sangria and a book. This time I said, “sure.” I think their mouths hit the floor. It seemed a much better alternative to the jumping out of an airplane skydiving which Eric has done twice and Arielle and Kai are eager to try. I knew there…
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Family Bonding Over the Holidays
One of the greatest sounds in the world is the laughter of my children – together. Last night I was upstairs working, Eric was playing his computer game and our two children were downstairs watching a movie and laughing hysterically. I felt the warm glow that mothers feel when their children are bonding and kind to one another. I finished writing and went down to join them. Arielle was lounging on a chair and Kai was across from her on the couch. A small table sat in between. I plopped down next to Kai and we all watched, Waterboy. A commercial came on and Kai muted the TV. Arielle began telling…
