The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant

Oh happy day!

1. My husband is coming home tonight

2. My oriental lilies are starting to bloom

3. My kids are being good friends*

4. We have a bonfire to attend tonight at Owen and Ashley's

5. I had berry scones for breakfast

6. I have a new Georgette Heyer to listen to while I fold the mountain of convention laundry that is languishing in sorted baskets in my room. (Let's gloss over the fact that I have had five days to do this and haven't.)

(*The term "being good friends" is hereby defined as fighting less than 50% of the time. The definition has loosened as the kids get older.) 

And now, since it seems so appropriate as the cousin pictures come to a close, here is a book we love:

The Relatives Came 

by Cynthia Rylant

The first I knew of this book, my teacher cousin sent a copy to Mom and Dad when I was a teenager. It has been a Vaughan favorite ever since. 

This is a story of a family with a patched up, mismatched car filled to over flowing, traveling for a day and night and another day to spend some time with extended family.     

Road trips, old cars, big family... We sort of commandeered this book as our own.

I love this page, "Then it was into the house and so much laughing and shining faces and hugging in the doorways. You'd have to go through at least four different hugs to get from the kitchen to the front room. Those relatives!"

This family seems to be very extended, somewhat boisterous, and readily willing to be delighted with each other. It may have been me projecting, but it seemed to me that they were farmers in the north. 

And then, the goodbyes. 

I love that line, after all the waving, "...then we crawled back into our beds that felt too big and too quiet." It so perfectly captures that deflated feeling after something long anticipated and thoroughly enjoyed comes to an end.  

Our relatives are safely home. It was such a delightful week!