So very fortunate

Last year I decided that our little family was not family like enough. It happened one day last September, when Sydney said something to Al and he told her she was annoying. I said, that's it, we're going to family counseling. He said, we don't need it, I said yes, we do, we have to all learn how to be a family instead of us against him or he and I and she's feeling like a third wheel. So we went, and Al sat quietly, as Al is prone to do, and said not much...
I thought, maybe this isn't going to work, but I kept it to myself. We followed the suggestions of how to be more of a family, things we should do together, ways for us to be closer and more of a family unit. Well, it's working, a family we have become. An added benefit is that Al and I have become better parents and Sydney has become less afraid to speak her mind and be a contributing member of the family.

Maybe it was like this before between them, maybe the counseling has helped, maybe it was me who needed the counseling to see that we are a family and that I'm doing an ok job as a mom. Maybe I was the problem. Sydney is playing baseball this year. I don't know anything about baseball, except that there's four bases and a bat and glove involved. I don't know how to play, I like to watch the sport, but that's it. Al though, he played little league as a kid, and he knows about it, he knows about the equipment and what is involved and what she needs to do. Even better, Sydney's team is called the Giants, Al's favorite team, which is just tickling Sydney.

To add to the family we've built, with no small effort, we have Brooklyn Isabella on the way. Sydney gets a sister, and Al and I another daughter. When Sydney was born I felt so alone, I was terrified at the prospect of raising a baby because part of me knew that her father wasn't going to be around all that much. I pushed ahead and tried to make it work, tried to make it ok, and it didn't work. The week I was divorced a friend pushed me into going out on a date. Al took me out for a drink. We talked for hours, I felt so comfortable, but at the same time awkward because I'd just gotten divorced.
I am so thankful for that night nearly 5 years ago when I woke up and realized that the person who loved me was across the street. I was right, that person still loves me, more every day. We are about to embark on a new adventure, my little family with the big heart holding us together. Sydney Isa, Brooklyn Isabella and Al and Gina, one little happy family. It feels so wonderful and happy. Thank you Lord, for these Blessings.