“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” ― George Bernard Shaw,

“Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related for better or for worse...and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.”
― Rick Riordan,

Last Wednesday my day began with my oldest brother texting me at 7 AM asking, "what time do you work"? The message woke me up and I got out of bed to start my day. I walked into my living room to see a dark silhouette of a man sitting in my recliner. It was dark, I froze wondering what to do when I hear, "Where is my coffee"? I recognized the voice of my oldest brother Jay. "How did you get in here and how did I not hear you"?!?!? He just laughed at me and I was relieved I didn't have to run for my tazer. Jay stayed with me for two days and it was great to have some time with him without everyone else around. He even fixed my Keureg. What a nice brother!

The week only got better and better as more of my siblings slowly trickled into town. My oldest sister's father-in-law had passed away on Christmas Eve 2012. Hal Taylor was a great man who always helped everyone, even my own mother with things around her house. Just last July he was in her front yard cutting down a tree. How quickly life can change.

My oldest sister Kimberly, her husband Gary and my nieces Amber & Celeste flew in from Wisconsin earlier that week. Friday Morning my sister Linda flew in from Texas.
I picked Linda up from the airport and we rushed to my condo to get ready for the Funeral.

The service was lovely and honored a wonderful man. It hit home to me as Hal was my Mom's age. Ten years younger than my own father. I felt anxious that my time with my own parents is limited. I feel so young to have these feelings, however it's inevitable. We joked with my Mom that we are going to stuff her so we can keep her with us forever. She laughed and suggested we have a motion sensor voice box of her favorite sayings. My Mom is in good health and spunky so I don't worry about her as much as I do my Dad. He is 81, has some health problems and I've noticed his health declining rapidly the last few years. For those of you who know me well, you know that my relationship with my Dad has been a rocky one. We were never that close when I was growing up. He was always a wonderful provider and someone I could depend on to take care of me physically.
Growing up I always wanted a closer relationship with him, it just never happened. It wasn't until about 6 years ago when I moved home from Hawaii that we really began to connect.
I opened up to him about personal things in my life and he was a good listener and offered wise advise. It's been a wonderful six years getting to know my Dad on a more personal, loving level.
Today, he is the funniest, smartest man I know. I can ask him anything about history and he will know who, when and where. I feel so blessed to have him as my Dad. I want to gulp every moment I have with him as I know time is never on our side. My biggest fear is that he won't be here to walk me down the isle when I meet someone he would be proud to call his son-in-law. I guess I'll deal with that when the time comes. Even so, if my Dad isn't here, I always have three awesome bothers who can step in for the Captain if need be.

It was a memorable weekend having everyone home. We missed Jeff as he was in Montana working, but he was with us regardless. Saturday we spent the day together as a family. We all went to The Purple Turtle in Pleasant Grove. Both of my parents were there and it's nice that they can come together on family outings even though they are divorced. Lately when they are together they are caught reminiscing on the "good old days". They share stories of when their children were young and it's endearing to see them both smile and laugh together again. We are what holds them together.

We are still and will always be the Ferguson family.

My oldest Brother Jay spent time at my Dad's helping him go through guns, ammo and other family memorabilia. Taking an account of what belongs to who and so on. We found some boxes full of quilts and other sewing crafts my Grandma Ferguson had made. Kimberly, Linda and I went through the boxes and we each got to have a quilt and some other things my Grandma hand crafted. I sure miss that crazy, southern woman sometimes!

The rest of the weekend we spent almost every minute together. We were either checked into "The Captains Lounge" on Facebook, (my Dad's house) gathered around talking until 3 AM or at my Mom's house eating and watching TV. It's interesting how all of us are scattered across the country, but when we are together, we are home. I want my family to know how much I love each and every one of them. I'm so thankful for all of my siblings, nieces, nephews and especially my parents. We've all had our bumps in the road and when I've gone through mine, it's always been my family who was there for me. None of us are perfect, but I would say my family is close enough to perfect for me.