Renew your spirit with an impromptu family visit

This is the last time we got a picture of the four of us together.
Christmas 2011

I got to see my brother yesterday!

He and his girlfriend spent a week in Florida at the house of a friend of our mother's (near Tampa). They're headed back today, so on their way out of the state, they stopped by for lunch.

It was wonderful.

I don't get to see my siblings very often anymore. I saw them in 2013 when I took the munchkins up for Christmas, and I hope/expect to see them in October for the wedding.

But life has unfolded in such a way that it's not feasible for us to go up as often as we'd like, and they aren't able to come down as often as they'd like. So we make do with phone calls and texts and Facebook messaging.

My brother (the guy on the right in the picture) and I have gotten a lot closer as we've gotten older, even if we do live states away from each other. We're in similar places in our lives and have much more in common than we once did. It's nice to be able to have that connection with him.

And he's an amazing uncle. He hasn't seen the kids in ages, but jumped right into typical uncle duties as if he hadn't missed a day. He plays and jokes and gives them his rapt attention. Puck and Tink adore him. In fact, even though Tink hadn't seen him in over a year, when he came in, she ran right up and jumped into his arms.

It was a good opportunity to touch base with family to get me through until October when I'll get to (hopefully) see everyone again. And we'll make sure to get a picture.