Stop the Madness

Just returning from our family vacation in Fresno with my 31 family members, including 15 nieces and nephews, 4 brothers and 4 sisters, 4 spouses, 1 niece's husband and mom and dad. We had fun under the leadership of my amazing sister Bridget, who runs a camp like schedule including games and family trivia. We have been getting together for the past 5 years to celebrate JP and Jonna’s wedding, birthdays, baptisms, my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary and just being together as family in "communion." During our 5 or so days together we shared more joy than frustration, more freedom than control and more love than disappointment. There are times when-- with so many people together, much sun, and late nights--exhaustion and tension creep in. Matthew called it "stop the madness." I learned from the little ones how to “stop the madness,” they would say, “Aunt Gretchen, can we go to our room?” and there we would go to sit and rest, do yoga, watch TV and play Tropix on the computer. These little breaks where we "stopped the madness" enabled us to go back to the pool and to the others with a refreshed heart and renewed energy. Take time to stop the madness and go to your room where there is rest.