Toad and I were fortunate to spend a week this summer with my friend and her family from Italy. My friend was an exchange student who lived with my family 30 years ago (my sister spent several months in Italy hosted by her family). In the ensuing 30-years, we have kept in touch by mail and social media and there have been a couple of trips back and forth for weddings.

My Italian sister brought her husband and two children to vacation with us in BC. What a delight it was to watch the kids learn to communicate across languages (English, Italian and French) and run and laugh and play together like they had known each other their whole lives and not just one week.

 Our family traveled together and explored together. We learned about new foods, new worldviews and new ways of being. The whole world expanded for the Toad and I this week just like our hearts did. We spoke about our children bringing their children together in 30 years to continue our tradition of family vacations.

As the car was being packed for our family’s departure, my sweet boy observed that the kids were struggling with goodbyes as much as he was. As our family drove away Toad remarked how sad he was that there would be four empty chairs at our table. I agreed but reminded him how rich we were to have so many people in our “family of choice”. We spent some time talking about how many people we have chosen or who have chosen us to be family. What a truly blessed life we have.

“By choice, we have become a family, first in our hearts, and finally in our breath and being. Great expectations are good; great experiences are better.” Richard Fischer