The Lucky Ones

I am a lucky girl.  For a million different reasons.  The reason that I am going to focus on today is my parents.  When I said “I will” to Colby, I gained a new mother, a new father, two new sisters, a new brother and two nephews.  As soon as those words left my mouth, I was officially adopted into sweet Scott family.  Same with Colby, he gained a new mom, new dad, a new sister and a brother.  He was adopted into the Simmons family on May 25^th also.   Both of our parents have been so great about treating us like their own children.  For example, my parents have given Colby his own stocking at Christmas, even before we were engaged.  He was a part of our family so their treated him like their own kid.  Similar with my mother-in-law.  The latest example, she bought her two daughters and me the same part of pajama pants as a little surprise.  It meant so much to be recognized as one of her daughters.  Since Colby and I have started our latest adventure, aka buying a house, our parents have been over at the new house, scrubbing and cleaning and installing and painting, and “de-junking” and all sorts of other verbs during their free time.  They give and give and give.  Colby and I are beyond blessed to have two sets of parents who adore us and sacrifice daily for our own well-being.  It’s rare for anyone to have ONE set of parents that are willing to do that… but we have TWO.  It’s unreal.  Those four are such a blessing.

Our parents are similar in a bunch of ways.  Our parents are also very different in a bunch of ways.  For example, my mom is a researcher.  Our vacations have always, always, always been phenomenal because the woman does her research.  She sorts through all of our options and picks the best ones.  She researches different things, sites, attractions, touristy things, native ventures, etc., to do in those cities or mountains or wherever we travel.  She does all these things so that we get the most out of the area we visit.  And we certainly do.  We get so much out of one trip in a single city, that we feel satisfied knowing we probably won’t visit that place again.  Simmons vacations are the BEST.  I’ll have to blog about vacationing with my parents sometime, because it is such an adventure. 

I would consider my mother-in-law to be the “queen of improvise”.  I am so serious about this, this woman can take any situation, any mishap, hiccup or incident turn completely around and make everyone believe that “that was supposed to happen”.   That TV show, Let’s Make a Deal.  She would win something off it, I promise you.  If Monty Hall picked her and asked her if she had things like a concert ticket, a piece of tin foil, lip stick, an AAA battery and pepper shaker in her pocketbook, she would A) probably have them all or B) convince the host that the ticket stub to Les Mes was indeed a concert, or that a Zip Loc bag with holes in it would suffice as a pepper shaker.

One of the many things that my two mama’s have in common is their willingness to give.  Seriously.  Almost everything Colby and I have to our name has been given to us, not by wedding gifts and birthday gifts but from our mama’s.  From kitchen supplies to the clothes on our backs, our mama’s have been taking good care of their babies.  My mother-in law will bring a crock pot of roast and sit it in the kitchen so we don’t have to fix supper that night.  My mama, will search North Carolina high and low to find the peanut butter and string cheese we like the best.  We are beyond blessed and we realize that fully.

Oh, the men we get to call “dad”, are unbelievable.  They too are different in a bunch of ways.  For example, my daddy is the epitome of a Type B personality.  He does not get amped up about anything.  Actually, growing up one of the biggest rules we had in our house was “Now, the main thing is not to get excited.”  Simply meaning, there is no reason to get worked up, we will figure this out.  I love that my dad is extremely flexible and completely laid back.  I have rarely seen my dad mad or get worked up over my 22 years of life and when he was mad it was probably because I didn’t get a good enough lead to steal second base or because I didn’t shoot enough three’s in the second quarter.

Tim, my father-in-law, is a very smart man.  He likes to analyze everything.  I asked him to build this giant table for the wedding party to sit at during our wedding reception.  I told him a couple of vague details, like “I want a very large, farmhouse table”.  I didn’t give him a lot of details, because I didn’t know them.  He researched tables for weeks.  He asked a hundred questions.  How wide of boards do you want?  How thick of legs do you want?  How many people are eating on it? Do you want these types of boards or these types of boards?  Is it okay if I use a jigsaw?  After answering his hundred questions and a couple of weeks later, Tim had created the most beautiful farmhouse table.  He analyzes things for a reason.  He wanted to do the best work he can do and wanted me to be happy with the results.  And I love that table.

The main way my two boys are the same?  Hardworking.  They work hard at everything they do.  From building tables to installing TVs to rewiring something to building fires to keeping their homes in tiptop shape.  They want to take care of their families and that is seen so well in the both of them.   I adore their hard working personalities and their willingness to help others in their own projects.

So, there is a short summary of why Colby and I are the two luckiest human beings to ever live.  We have four people who are constantly surrounding us with love and support, especially as we take on new adventures as broke, blissful newlyweds.