Family Reunion: Love, Laughter, and a Worn-Out Livestock Guardian Dog

There are few things that make your heart as full as hearing, “Everyone’s coming to visit!”

This weekend, they did—Jim’s kids, one of the kid-in-laws, all but two of his grandkids, including a friend of one of them (who's taking the picture), and even one of my kids. It’s been years since he’s had all four of his kids in the same place at the same time, and seeing them all together again was something special. The laughter, the catching up, the stories that got retold for the hundredth time—it felt like time folded in on itself and gave us a few golden days to remember what really matters.

We had a full house—emphasis on full. Every chair had someone in it, every flat surface had something on it, and the air was full of conversation and the kind of easy noise that only family makes. I couldn’t believe how many times we ran a full load in the dishwasher, but somehow even that felt cheerful—like the sound of a house doing what it was built for.

The grandkids spent half the time outside playing with Gus, our livestock guardian dog. He’s half Akbash and half Spanish Mastiff—built for endurance, strength, and protecting his herd from just about anything. But even Gus met his match. The kids tore through the pasture, shrieking and laughing, with Gus happily chasing them at full speed. After a while, he slowed to a trot, then a walk, and finally stretched out in the grass with a grin that said, "Okay, kids. You win." It takes a rare kind of energy to wear out an LGD, but the grandkids managed it.

But oh, it was worth it. The laughter, the stories, the kids running circles around the adults—it all felt like life turned up to full volume. Jim’s grin said everything. There’s a certain kind of peace that comes from seeing your family together, under one roof, even if you can’t hear yourself think while it’s happening.

Most of them arrived Saturday morning and were gone by Sunday night, with the rest slipping out in the wee hours of Monday morning. It went by far too fast. One minute the house was alive with chatter and laughter, and the next it was still and quiet again.

When I got up Monday morning, well after the last car pulled away, I paused for a moment taking it all in—the echo of voices, the faint trail of muddy footprints across the floor. And all I could think was how lucky we are to have people who fill our home, our hearts, and occasionally our dishwasher, to the brim.

Family may be loud, messy, and impossible to keep under one roof for long, but they’re also the heartbeat of home. And for one weekend, our house had a very strong pulse.

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