There are three of us siblings. One brother and two sisters. I am the oldest. A few weeks ago, I hosted a Shrimp Boil & Fish Fry and my sibling were in full attendance and servitude. But this is not unusual for us. We are an increasingly rare breed. We actually 'like' each other and get along with each other. There are no arguments or squabbles. That does not mean we always agree and when we were growing up we did have squabbles because kids are … well … hmmm … selfish! We all wanted our way at some point.
If we were all together with our spouses and kids you will see that there is ALWAYS laughter and food. We can also do LOUD like no other. Surprisingly, when we are in our own homes, we are very quiet people. My house can be so quiet it's spooky sometimes.
Anyway, back to the boil and fry. I invited 32 people to join us (my hub & I) this year and 30 showed up😳. We worked on the backyard tediously for weeks to get it where we wanted for our guests. There is not a lot of prep work in food preparations because this is all put together as guest arrive because each family had to bring a bag of large raw deveined shell on shrimp. This is a little tidbit my brother (the baby) did not understand. Since he and his family arrived that morning they were helping to arrange and set things up and run errands. I sent my brother to the store to pick up 4 pounds of dressed catfish and 3 pounds of spot, all wild caught -that I had ordered earlier that day. Upon this he just assumed that this amount of fish would not be enough and he proceed to buy enough shrimp and fish to feed a small country🤣. When he returned, guest had begun to arrive and bags of shrimp were piling up. I looked at my brother and husband and said 'man, we have more shrimp than we need and everyone is not here yet'. And brother simply said, I just got some extra so we would not run out. I replied, 'well, I already had two bags in the freezer and when each family brings a bag it will be more than enough. Plus I've got 5 pounds of catfish fillets in the frig'. Now he finally gets it! We still have shrimp in the freezer weeks later! Then a thought occurred to me … did he really think I would invite all these people and not have enough to feed them? Rather than entertain that thought, I settle on the fact that he saw a need (lack of something) and set out to fill that need without fuss, grandiose, or negative thought. That's ❤️. 
Now let's focus on sister, she is always the life of the party. We will not be bored if she is around. That is, until she falls asleep -lol. She calls me suga mama. She texted me stating it was supposed to rain and if we needed to get a rain plan since the invitations stated that we would only cancel for a hurricane. She was right. It poured and it was awfully muggy, humid and sticky. And no one would get to use the backyard we worked so hard to prepare and use my she shed I worked to finished for the ladies. I noticed my sister sat in one room and was rather quiet and I decided not to push her by asking my 'I'm the big sister and you ain't acting right questions'. Turns out, lil sis was sick and didn't want me to focus on her but on my party. Again, that's ❤️ !
Between the three of us, we have five children. My hubby and I have three god daughters and a host of mentees. Our children returned to the area just to share in this event. When teenagers and young adults want to return home to family … that's ❤️ . 
In the morning, when I rise, I realize that I am blessed.
When I look into the eyes of each of you, I realize that I am blessed. I will maximize each moment I have with each of you. I will pray for you, love you, honor you, respect you. I will not intentionally hurt or harm you with my hands or mouth. You are important to me but best of all, YOU ARE LOVED BY THE KING.
Pure & Lovely Gifts 