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Hi friends,<\/p>\nHi friends,<\/p>\n
It’s been quite a while since the last time I posted. Things have been very up and down in the Draijer\/Kidder household. At the beginning of February I got a call from my sister in the States that my dad had suffered a stroke. Things were a little touch and go and they didn’t know if he would come out of it. In the back of my mind, I had been anticipating a call like this sometime…however in my mind it wouldn’t come for a couple years yet. In that sense, I suppose I was half-prepared. Early the next morning she called again with the news that he’d also suffered a heart attack, with bleeding to his brain. Benne and I got on the next flight to the US, and my dad passed away a couple days after we arrived. He wasn’t conscious when I saw him…and I already knew that my dad wasn’t really there anymore.<\/p>\n
I had shared in a previous post, that my family had all come to visit us in Holland for Christmas…this was really special and I’m now especially thankful for the time we had. It’s funny how things work sometimes. On January of last year (so 2017), I suddenly got the feeling that I needed to have my family over to NL for Christmas. We hadn’t been ALL together for the holidays in several years, and I realized that my dad had never even seen where I live. That day, I called my mom up and asked her if they could come. She was super excited and we started making plans. This past Christmas was one of the most meaningful I’ve had with my family. Not just because of what I know now, but because we were all together and appreciating that that in itself was special.<\/p>\n
The following days\/weeks I spent with my mom and siblings after my dad passed, were some of the most rich and meaningful, also intense and emotional. When we returned home I was completely empty. It’s taken me the past few months to come to the realization of what’s taken place…and to begin to adjust to this new situation we’re in as a family. It’s a different season, and we’re all slowly reorienting ourselves.<\/p>\n
I think I’m going to leave it at this for now. Just wanted to give a little update.<\/p>\n
Love,
\nAbby<\/p>\n
P.S.
\n…I am still baking and working away on my bakebook project, I just haven’t felt the desire\/need to write about it. No worries, I’m still very much baking my heart out. I’ll update you about this soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"