Jennie & Bubski & little Louie.  

Tonight we had a family dinner.  Tomorrow my brother & his wife leave for Colorado.  And after that France.  And after that … who knows!

That’s what makes Dave Dave and I couldn’t imagine it any other way, even though I wish we saw him more.  I’ve heard other people’s opinions about him my whole life, but here’s what I think.  He’s the best.  And he’s the best because he lives life exactly as he does.

Our dad sent us the above photo today.  I always love the surprise emails from him; usually one brief line of text and a photo that feels priceless.  This one of Jennie and Bubski and my Dad, his little family growing up.  At a backyard BBQ party at Geneva on the Lake.  Just a brief moment in time, captured and now shared with us.  It felt perfect.

Family is family is family.  I grew up completely blessed.  I know that now more than ever before.  Tonight, sitting around the table,  we all told stories, some old, some new.  My dad told Jo about his first trip to Europe — a legendary story to us kids (and John, too).  About Bubski handing him $500, getting his passport in a day in downtown Pittsburgh.  Arriving in Rome and watching Aida at the Circus Maximus, drinking wine out of leather wine bladders.  Riding the train to Naples in order to catch the boat to Capri.  Shopping for pearls.  He told new stories, like our maternal grandfather’s first trip to the USA in 1976.  Going to Fort Pitt and seeing the re-enactment soldiers.  Dinner at Oakmont Country Club.

Dave & I talked about how absolutely lucky we were to have our parents, people who saw the positive, who believed in the magic, who exposed us to the world.  Who did nothing but encourage us to go out and live our lives.

I probably saw more similarities in us tonight than I’ve ever seen.  It felt comforting.  My little brother, my first best friend.  Whose life looks so different from my own.  And yet, who resembles me in so many ways.

Family is crazy.  And I love mine.