Life Choices, Challenges and Changes

June 22, 2017, Blended Family

June 22, 2017, Blended Family

Lorelai was happy to be here at Finn and Rory's home in South Hampton. She was amazed how her small family that was once herself and Rory, now had become one large family thanks to the Morgans. From the moment that Finn and Rory started dating Amanda and Liam included them in all their family gatherings. When Liam and Amanda met Luke and Lorelai they found another couple that had shared the same interests as they did. It was not only the love of their children and their marriage but they both were involved in the Hospitality Industry.

Amanda and Liam had been invited to the Inn and the town of Stars Hollow often, and they watched as Lorelai's dream of the Annex was completed. They were impressed with Lorelai's keen business instincts and also Luke's business and how he invested his money and built the diner over the years offering quality service and food. They slowly encouraged Luke to add his diner to their hotel in Hartford the year that Finn and Rory were married. Once that became a success, Luke began to franchise his Luke's Diner as specialty restaurants in the Morgan Hotels and Resorts in the US.

After their three children were married and decided to live in the United States, Liam Morgan purchased a historic home in West Hartford a few months after Liam was born. The family referred to this as their Scarborough Home. Their house is on Scarborough St. situated on five acres of land. The house is an old historic manor home with five bedrooms and bathrooms that was painstakingly restored by them adding all the modern conveniences.

Amanda and Liam had the house renovated to include a professional grade kitchen and air conditioning. The week that Amanda and Liam moved in, the tradition of Sunday family meals began. These family meals always included their children's families. Luke and Lorelai would leave Stars Hollow, early on Sunday morning bringing one or two of his pies and stopping by along the way to pick up Emily and sometimes her friend Jack. Christopher, Gigi, Francine and sometimes Lauren, Christopher's girlfriend, would join them. If TJ and Liz were around they would arrive with Doula, and of course Colin and his family would be there too. After Finn and Rory's wedding Lorelai became aware of the close bond that Colin had with Finn and his parents. She and Luke also found themselves becoming very fond of them and before long they began to treat Bella and Conrad as their other grandchildren. Though both Colin and Steph's parents lived in Hartford, they rarely saw their parents and the children rarely spent time with their grandparents. So it was only natural that Colin would ask both Luke and Liam for advice.

Finn enjoyed standing on the shoreline fishing on sunny mornings with his family beside him. Finn, Rory, and the children would pack a cooler with drinks and snacks and bring a blanket, umbrella, chairs, and books along with his rod and fishing gear. The two little boys would carry their sand toys and their trucks to the beach; and before long they soon would abandon them and stand beside their father and watch him fish.

It was a beautiful June morning, and the ocean was sparkling with a warm breeze blowing across the sea. After everyone arrived, Finn suggested that they go down and do some fishing from the ocean shoreline. Around eleven, the men all walked down to the beach with their cooler of beer, their fishing rods, tackle boxes, and bait with the four boys following them. Before long, Steph, Mia and Rory followed leaving Lorelai and Amanda in the house. Luke, Finn, Colin, Angus and Liam Sr. were all standing on the beach with fishing poles and casting out into the water. The older boys were running along the edge of the beach chasing the waves and would turn and run back towards the dunes when the cold water would tickle their feet. Bella and Liam were dancing in the waves as it lapped onto the warm sand. The two children were giggling as the sand tickled their feet as it was pulled back into the ocean. The women were standing and talking beside Bella and Liam. Rory had Ashlyn in her Boba while she spoke with Steph and Mia who was holding Steph's son in her arms. When the older boys heard Luke and Colin start yelling they stopped what they were doing and ran over towards the men and watched as Liam reeled the fish closer to the beach. The fish would bob up to the surface, and suddenly the reflections of its silvery scales would be visible above the water, then a wave would come, and it would disappear. Finn and Angus put their poles down and picking up the net the two men ran over to help their father.

"Liam, come here," Rory called, and he ran to her side.

"Look at G-pa. He has something on the end of his pole. Let's go get G-ma and Nana and have them come down and watch," She told him as she pointed to his grandfather. Liam Sr. appeared to be struggling as he pulled in a large fish. Little Liam became excited and jumped up and down.

"Me do Mama?"

"Okay, I will walk you up to the stairs, and you go into the house and get Nana and G-ma."

She quickly walked him back to the house watching and smiling as he ran into the house yelling for his grandmothers. Lorelai and Amanda were talking in the house and were looking at the wall of photos that Finn and Rory had hanging up in the hallway going to their bedroom. The women spoke and recalled when Robert had taken each picture. They stood in front of the picture collage of Finn and Rory. In the center was their wedding picture but around it was the images that led up to the wedding.

"You know, Lorelai, I never thought my Finn would ever marry. He always had girls following him, and he knew how to get their attention. I am afraid that our little Liam is going to be just like him."

Lorelai laughed, and turned when all of a sudden, Liam came running down the hall calling, "G-ma, Nana, come..."

"What's going on, Buddy?" Amanda asked him as she lifted her grandson up in her arms.

"Come see. Mama said, Come see."

"Okay, we are coming."

Liam wiggled out of her arms and went running outside to the deck that overlooked the beach. The two women quickly followed Liam who was now standing on the railing jumping up and down and pointing to the group on the beach.

"Big Fish...Look!"

Afraid that he would miss something he grabbed Lorelai's hand and began pulling her to the steps. Lorelai lifted him into her arms as she and Amanda headed towards the steps that would take them to the beach.

As they walked toward the ocean, Lorelai noticed how it was sparkling and that something silver was bobbing up in the water. There was a gentle warm breeze blowing across the beach. Lorelai put Liam down on the ground and watched as he ran towards his father and grandfathers. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and lifting the phone up she took a photograph of the group.

Lorelai watched as the men helped Liam pull the fish onto the shore. Little Liam was squatting beside his father talking to him. She couldn't hear the conversation, but she knew Finn was taking his time explaining to her grandson about the fish. Bella was standing holding her father's hand and watched as the men took the hook out of the fish's mouth. Her daughter stood there looking beautiful as the wind was blowing a strand of hair out of her ponytail. Her hand was resting gently on the bottom of her sleeping daughter talking to Steph, Mia and Amanda who was now holding Conrad. Before Lorelai joined the group, she lifted her phone and took another photograph of her daughter, as her thoughts drifted back to November 2011.