The importance of every star in the family firmament

Ask me what was most amazing about son Ben’s recent Lord Huron show before a sold-out crowd (including multitudes of family and friends) at the beautiful Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre beside the glimmering Detroit River on a spectacular summer night, and I’ll tell you…

…It was son Justin’s surprise arrival – leaving work in Indianapolis at noon to be there (more than eight hours round-trip driving for eight hours of family time) – to add his heat to the forging of our blessed, ever-expanding family ties.

We needed that.

Likewise for the fusion of family and friends – cousins long lost, friends long unseen – who made the celebration all the more grand, simply by being there.

The demands of everyday life provide us with excuses aplenty for not connecting. So it's an extraordinary moment when we put down the task at hand and instead reach out to each other. It's not easy, it's not convenient. It may take some indulgence; it might even take some courage.

But if you step back and look at the human constellation that's created, it's a beautiful thing: family, whether by blood, choice, or chance.

Here's to all the lights in our lives, and our commitment to keep the night sky glowing.

Photo credit: Lynne VanAcker Martin