Family

So I just got back from a four day vacation with my entire family on my moms side in Arkansas. Arkansas is where my family is from and we own three separate vacation homes. Caddo Gap, Arkansas, population 74, is where we stay. Nestled in the mountains along the Caddo River there is no TV, no computer, no internet, and no cell service. To most people this sounds torturous but for me Caddo Gap is the best place to get away.

My family has absolutely everything you can dream up. Name a personality...it was represented in that house. One thing the majority of the members of our family have in common is that they are all natural born leaders. Ever heard the phrase "too many chefs in the kitchen?" That just about sums up most family gatherings. Even in the midst of controlled chaos and confrontation, the Bridgers family never turns it back on one another. I was reminded of just how precious family is this weekend and why it is such an important part of my life. As I looked across the living room of The Big House and saw countless faces from different homes, cities, professions, and preferences everyone truly loves one another. No matter where, how, or when you screw up that family is never going to look down on you, or let anyone else for that matter. I am so blessed to have a family such as this.

Just three years ago the best man I have ever met went to be with the Lord. Larry Bridgers is my grandfather ("Papa") and the link to this family. He was one of those people that when he entered a room you knew it and wanted to be right by his side. He had a personal unspoken goal to be the source of your smile and knew how to make anyone feel like the center of the universe by a simple conversation. He never met a stranger. My Papa is the best man to ever walk the earth. The family isn't the same without him, anyone can see that. But it has caused us to grow closer together...leaning on one another in sorrow and growing together with each day passing remembering the joy he brought all of us. After he died my thoughts on family and how close I allowed people to get grew more and more distant and I calloused my heart. This weekend my heart broke out of the callous from grief and allowed love to replace it. I miss my Papa like crazy but at the end of the day what gets me through are the different glimpses I see of him in each member of our family.

I am so blessed to have a crazy, opinionated, bossy, loving, supportive, big family.