There is a song that is always requested whenever there is a family wedding.
My sister-in-law will always make sure it is played.
She and I have the same name; she is the original; I received the name by marriage.
Through the years, I was called by my first name and maiden name, to end the confusion.

The song she requests is, We are Family, popular back in the 80’s.
Whenever that song is played, every Gallagher must be on the dance floor.
At our nephew’s wedding last year, everyone did a sort of stroll dance to that song.
Two by two, down the line until the song ended.

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The funeral of my friend’s father brought back all sorts of memories.
I was reluctant to go on the whirlwind trip to Europe that my father seem to need.
However, through that trip, I met a special lady.

When you go on a tour like that, you are with the same group of people.
Meeting the Garrisons was just what I needed.
Mrs. Garrison seemed to intuitively know exactly what I needed.

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I had the privilege of seeing “community” lived-out…twice in one day!
Standing in line, a mother with two children was asking where she could buy plants.
The cashier and the customer next in line, suggested quite a few places.
They included detailed directions and price expectations.

The location of one garden store stumped both women.
I had been listening to their conversation as I waited my turn.
I happened to know exactly where she needed to go and the landmarks to get her there.

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My youngest son was in sixth grade at the time.
I lovingly called him my Dennis the Menace because of his pockets.
Whenever I did the laundry, I always had to turn his pockets inside out.
I never knew what I would find there.

A pencil that looked like a dog chewed it; a broken rubber band.
A paper clip that had been unwound; the cap of a pen.
Half of an eraser; a penny or two.
The outside shell of a pen with the ink cartridge missing.

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It was a roll your windows down kind of day.
Beautiful weather…low humidity…light breeze.
The kind of day when your music sounds a bit better as you drive down the road.
But then, so does everyone else’s!

I never think much about the self-contained world we have in our cars.
We have tissues and hand wipes and umbrellas.
We have a beach chair, a blanket, and an extra sweatshirt.

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During our engagement, my husband and I set out one day to find an apartment.
We were to be married in October, but my husband needed to move in at the end of June.
He was beginning his engineering job and needed to be close to work.
I would move in after we were married, four months later.

We began our search early in the morning.
The first apartment we saw was exactly what we wanted.
But, my soon-to-be husband, the engineer, wanted to see other apartments first.
I agreed, but I knew that at the end of the day, this would be the one we would choose.

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One of my neighbors is an incredible resource for me.
If you need a restaurant suggestion, she knows the best place.
If you need to need a certain item, she knows just where to find it.

She is originally from the western part of our state.
My oldest son went to college out there.
She was able to tell him all the places to visit, and the good places to eat.

I have teased her and said that she is like a library to me.
I treasure her expertise and she knows that.

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The mother walked back towards the bathroom with her little boy.
This seemed to be a prerequisite before eating his lunch.
I don’t have to go, he said.

I looked at him in his little rain slicker and boots.
Iron Man…Spiderman…some sort of superhero prominently displayed.
He walked by too fast to be sure.

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The trees are so pretty now in early spring.
Some trees have flowering blossoms that come before the leaves.
It is delightful to walk under a shower of pink and white petals.
The breeze blows them gently off the trees.
They lay along the road like newly fallen snow.

Our township road crew drove around a few weeks ago inspecting the trees.
Branches that were hanging over the road were cut off.
The trees on our front lawn are set back a bit, so we only had a few branches cut.
Trees that were closer to the road got a full fledged township pruning.

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