For family

It's almost the middle of October, and this is the first blog post I've written this month.

We've been quite busy.

On Sept. 28, we drove 12 hours for a funeral in New York. Jeff's uncle passed away after a long battle with cancer. We were able to stay with Jeff's parents while we were there, so they had some time with us and Biscuit.

It was kind of an unusual situation because until the end of September, Jeff and I both had terminally ill uncles. And oddly enough, they both had the same first name and were both dying from cancer. It's an awful, painful way to go, and I can't imagine what they and their wives were going though. My uncle and his wife are still battling.

We've been talking about funerals and how we would handle the travel. My uncle is 2 1/2 hours away, and Jeff's uncle was 12 hours away. And with Biscuit in tow, we wanted to have some sort of plan in place to go when we needed to go.

We finagled our work schedules, using a combination of bereavement time and vacation. Then we packed our car full of clothes, baby gear, snacks and ... even though I said I'd never buy one of these ... a portable DVD player.

My reasoning was that my family took a cross-country car trip when my brother and I were kids, and we didn't have a DVD player! Well, I recently chewed on those words.

We stopped three times on the trip up - lunch, snack/bathroom and dinner. But even with stops, I realize 12 hours is a long time to be strapped into a car seat. We made it all the way to Pennsylvania before our little man got antsy. And as much as I protested DVD players in the car before, I didn't hesitate one minute to use it to entertain Biscuit.

Once we got to Jeff's parents' house, Biscuit walked around checking out the place (this was his first trip there). Then he got hugs from Grandma and Grandpa, and he was home. Our boy isn't shy. It doesn't take him long to treat a place like he owns it.

I hate that we made the trip for the reason we made it, but it was really nice to see family and let them meet Biscuit. I don't think he met a stranger. Wonder where he gets that from?!?

As much as we've hated to know our uncles were in bad shape, it truly does remind you to feel lucky about your own situation. Jeff and I are in good health, and so is Biscuit. We're lucky enough to have jobs and a nice home. We have friends and family who aren't too far away. Basically, we're living a good, good life.

And as we're facing deaths in our families, I hope we can remember them and grieve for them, but at the same time, realize how lucky we truly are.