Picture 6
The obvious:
My oldest younger sister (Cassie) and I are visiting a pumpkin patch in Door County, Wisconsin.
What you can’t see:
It is Columbus Day weekend in 2006, about 7 months before Mark and I got married. This was the second year I went to Door County with Mark and his family, and I was very excited that Cassie was able to come. I graduated from Purdue the August prior to this trip and moved up to Chicago. I missed her dearly. When we were at school together we met frequently for lunch, movies, working out, and trips to the mall. It is safe to say we both had a difficult time adjusting to the distance.
This trip gave us a chance to reconnect and spend some quality time together. It was unusually warm, so we were able to do all of our shopping and festival attending in matching hooded PU sweatshirts. (Dorks!) To give you an idea of how cold it can be, this year it snowed and we had to seek shelter in a beer tent at the Pumpkin Patch festival. Poor us.
How this picture makes me feel:
Lucky and blessed and so thankful! Lucky to have married into a tight knit family like my own. For the Gorski’s, the annual trip to Door County is all about family. Mark’s parents have been going up with his Mom’s parents and brothers and sisters since they were young children, and they make spending time together a high priority. I feel blessed to be a part of this tradition and can’t wait to carry it on with our kids someday.
I’m also lucky to have such an amazing sister, though I tend to think it has more to do with God than luck. Only He could have made such a perfect sisterly match. She has seen me at my best, my worst, and everywhere in between and she loves me unconditionally. We can have an argument and be 100% fine ten minutes later, a fact that blows Mark’s mind. Maybe it is all we’ve been through, maybe it is all we have in common. All I know for certain is that Cassie is my best friend. I’ve adored her since the day she was born and cherish moments like the ones in the picture above, since the time we get to spend together now is sparse.
*Title of the post is a line from “In Color” by Jamey Johnson. Buy it here!