Love Rolls On! Unlikely tales of marriage, love and disability

A Feast With Friends

We know the holidays have come and gone, but it has only been recently that I’ve been able to reflect on them. Amidst the whirlwind of writing that Megan and I found ourselves in as we completed our manuscript, my father and stepmother came to town for a weekend to celebrate Christmas with us.

As always, I expected we would have a pleasant yet relatively quiet time as during their typical holiday visits, we typically have quiet days cooking and celebrating on our own. Perhaps going out to dinner, but rarely interacting with others outside of our family.

This time, however, I was given an amazing and unexpected gift. We had been invited by our friends from martial arts to celebrate with them, both on Christmas eve as well as Christmas Day. Over the feast of wonderful roast lamb and all the other usual accoutrements, until now, we had never had the opportunity to introduce my dad and stepmother to those that we train with, and I was both excited and joyful about the opportunity.

There is something special I find in introducing my family to those who are so close to us. It’s almost as if we were able to give them a deeper understanding of who we are and also allowed them to appreciate why some of the influences other than themselves that have supported us as we have grown more fully into out love and service with one another.

In many ways, I suppose, I had wanted to introduce my dad and stepmother to them over the years, believing that somehow it would help them understand how Megan and I came to connect with one another and who the community is that I find myself constantly interacting with.

I must say, however that I was not prepared for how well they hit it off. Seeing my stepmother and one of our closest friends dive into a two-hour long conversation was even beyond my wildest imaginings. Even my dad, who at times may not be prone to listening deeply to other people, was somehow captivated in conversation with one of the teachers who had helped me move beyond so many barriers.

It was amazing to me to see how natural my dad and stepmother fit it, especially as I know they were amazed by the warmth my friends showed them. This interaction somehow solidified for me a level of comfort with discussing the martial arts with my family that I had not had before, truly it was the best gift that we could have received this holiday season.