To ensure I provide the complete and amazing story of this weekend, this blog entry will be in two parts.
I have been at a loss for words, experiencing writer"s block and still feeling like I am still in a dream sequence. But here goes...
This may not make any sense at all right now but the last five days both seemed to fly by and yet the flight was in slow motion.
Our arrival at the Buffalo airport came fast, as it was only an hour flight from Chicago to Buffalo. We were first off the plane and before we knew it, I was standing with my dad and Sandy again and meeting my brother David and his awesome girlfriend, Lorna for the first time. Soon thereafter we were on our way to breakfast for more discovery and conversation. We were certainly on our way for what would be a wonderful weekend adventure.
Breakfast with my brother David, Lorna, Dad, Sandy and Steve was amazing. I felt like we all seemed to hit it off immediately out of the gate. So, from my perspective the hard part was long behind us. We enjoyed both small talk and serious talk; it didn't matter, we were all sitting at the same table and talking. Something I dreamed about and it came true.
After breakfast, Dad and Sandy left to take care of errands and I spent the afternoon with my brother, David and Lorna. We first went to Starbucks for a caffeine jolt and casual conversation outside. Then we headed over to their home, visited for a while more and then set out for a nice walk in Delaware Park. Steve and I took turns chatting with David and Lorna and catching up on the time lost and making the best of our time together. A truly amazing 'walk in the park' experience for me.
Steve and I had a couple of errands to tend to before the family dinner at Chef's. It was an Italian feast night by choice. Before I knew it, we were in a private room at Chefs and one by one we were meeting more members of the Bauth and Daly families. I met my brother Paul, his wife Anya and their sons, Chris and Matt (my nephews) for the first time. Soon thereafter, I met my little sister, Kelly, her husband, Rob Daly and their son, Ryan, again another nephew. Another surreal moment for me to meet my little sister. The previous conversations with her leading up to this Buffalo adventure were helpful and I began to connect all of the dots. My life now has new joy, as a result of meeting these amazingly beautiful families; my family.
Dinner with everyone was a ton of fun and full of loud and jubilant laughter. When you enter into situations like these, I would imagine like me, you wonder if you will connect or have something in common. Of course this situation is not common by any stretch of the imagination, but because our personalities seemed to click that potential concern for me was immediately diminished and I sensed it was for most or all of them too.
The unfortunate problem with large dinner gatherings like this and under these circumstances, is that it is hard to get around and spend the quality time with everyone, as I'd hoped to do. Regardless, I made the best of every moment I had and savoured each conversation shared. Because I was sitting right next to my brother Paul, I was able to talk to him between every bite, while conversation and joy filled the room. I truly enjoyed this time and my conversation at dinner with my brother, Paul a great deal, especially since because of a previously planned family camping trip, I would not see him for the Saturday evening barbecue at Kelly's. Regardless, I personally felt that there was another bond between brothers formed.
I was able to include our brother, Jim-Bob into the conversation via cell phone. I called him and put him on the speaker phone to share the special moment in time with all of us, but especially, I wanted him to share it with me. He cracked everyone up with his comment, "...is my little sister, Kelly there?" Kelly was busy talking and sharing, but she lit up and smiled when she heard that from my phone. There were many incredible moments with Kelly like that on this evening. One very special to me was when rob took a photo of us together and another was when she laid her head on my shoulder when I reached out and hugged her. All very quick and delightful moments. Some others may not remember, but I will remember each and everyone of them.
While none of us wanted the evening to come to a close, before the night ended I was able to make a bit of a connection with my sister, Kelly. As small as the initial connection was between us for that moment in time, it was a magical one for me. She opened up a bit to me about the events leading up to the present time. She shared with me that she experienced both happiness and some fear too. I know there are a multitude of questions for her, as there are for me too. But, there is only so much time in a day to get everything in and all dreams shared.
Part II will come tomorrow, if not, certainly before weeks end. It will be about the remainder of the Buffalo dream visit and our amazing family barbecue at Kelly and Rob's.
Before I leave my blog for the day, I want to share my message which is about believing in your dreams. Dreams are important, but they will not come to fruition if you do not take action. Don’t procrastinate. Start living the life you want to live today. There is always a step you can take and there is always something you can do to make them come true.
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