Sweet family moments

[tiramisu]

Share yours! Feel free to include pets and friends who are like family.

[tiramisu]

This brought to you by the really sweet birthday card I received today from my grandma:

"I'm sure every grandparent wants their granddaughter to have a happy life, with good things continually happening to her. But I want something more for you, something better, something that can never be taken away...

My birthday wish for you is that you'll always be able to create your own happiness...
that you'll find childlike joy in the most ordinary things...
that you'll see a glimmer of light behind the darkest cloud and a rainbow in the smallest mud puddle.

My deep, loving birthday wish for you is that you'll keep being the wonderful person you are -- someone who knows how to stop and see the wonder everywhere.

Happy Birthday"

It made me cry!

[doriswe]

Awwwww!!! That's really sweet!

[partiallysunny]

That's so sweet tiramisu.

[kaneen]

That would totally have made me cry!

My sweet family moment comes from a painful thing. My granddad passed away about a month ago. I wasn't particularly close to him and the family dynamic was all screwed up but he's still my Dad's parent. Every one of my brother's and my sister are going to the memorial service in October. He never treated two of my brother's and I like we were his grandchildren (he's our step-grandfather) but we are all going to support my Dad. I don't think my Dad (who is technically my step-dad) expected those of use not blood related to granddad to go to the service. When he realized we were going for HIM - not granddad, he got all emotional. My Dad NEVER gets emotional so it was really sweet.

Edits:  Typos!  Forgive me, I've only had two sips of coffee so far!

[cuddlyevil]

When stbxfil (then fil) was diagnosed with Lymphoma, he was going through Chemo and having a tough time. None of us knew if he'd make it, but we were hopeful. They are not a card or mushy-type family, so we'd talk about it but it was really clinical. I bought him a really pretty get well/ we're thinking of you card, wrote it out and left it on his keyboard in his office just before we headed for home.

stbxmil called us after we left to tell us he found the card. He smiled and started crying.

And another, more recent one:

When I was getting ready to move out, my dad was all "It may just be me, but I'll rent a truck and come out to help.". Then it turned into "Everybody up here wants to know what you need. Lynn asked if you needed a couch, she has a small one if you want it.". They drove down a truck loaded with stuff, it was enough to get me and the kids set up in the house and saved me a ton of money. Everyone pitched in, it seriously made me cry.

[tiramisu]

I love these stories! I teared up reading all of them.

[Deleted]

lovely stories

[margarita]

These are all very sweet moments.

tiramisu, that card would have made me cry! And what better wish could one possibly have for a person they love? That's so beautiful.

[gault]

When my uncle was first diagnosed with lung cancer, we didn't know what stage it was, if he would need chemo, etc. He knew it was because he smoked at least a pack a day since he was 16, so he quit cold turkey.
All of the test results were bad - he had a few years to live, it was in the advanced stages, he would need multiple rounds of chemo if he wanted a chance, etc. It was devastating.

My uncle was normally not the warmest of people and didn't talk about his feelings much. Once he went through the initial stages of accepting that he had terminal cancer, he started coming out of his shell more. He was more open, more outwardly loving, and more appreciative of the world around him in general.

That Christmas, before our whole family was to eat lunch, he shouted that he had something to say. We were all in my cousin's living room and quieted down. He went on to say that he so appreciated the support and love from us and how lucky he is to have us as family, and how much the last year had meant to him - to have us there with him. Even going through the hell that is chemo, the grim diagnosis, and knowing he didn't have long left, he was still able to keep a positive attitude and state so sweetly all of these lovely things. Of course we were all bawling. It was SO unlike him to voluntarily express this kind of thing.

He went on to outlive his diagnosis by another year or two, which was wonderful.

[cuddlyevil]

gault's made me think of another.

My Mom's twin sister was diagnosed with a lung disease (she got the "kill you quick" kind where your only treatment option is a transplant). We went up to visit at Christmas, DD was 18 months old at the time, we spent some time at her house with just my parents on Christmas eve. DD let my aunt pick her up (Aunt was on oxygen 24/7 and pretty much bed ridden) and hold her for a while, we got a really nice picture of Ev holding DD and they were just looking at each other all happy. It was really sweet.

A month later, she went into the hospital and never came out

[starrieskies]

DS stopped in the middle of the soccer field yesterday at practice, picked a flower and brought it to me.

[udscoobychick]

I have two. One was when I was engaged the first time around, my great-uncle sent me a card congratulating me on the engagement and wishing me a wonderful marriage. He wrote on it "Best 72 years of my life!" and I still tear up in amazement that he and my great-aunt were together over 70 years (she has since passed).

The second...my dad always gets my sister and I a little something for Valentine's Day. The V-Day after XFI and I split, my dad sent me flowers, and the card read "From the one man you can always count on. Love, Dad" I am such a daddy's girl.

[sweetchix]

The very first time XH had DDs for a full week, they apparently missed me so much. When I came to pick then up, DD1 lifted my sunglasses and said "I want to see your face, I forgot what your face looks like."