Following the Thanksgiving dinner, it is our family’s tradition to take a few moments to each express our gratitude for something in our life. We all have so much to be grateful for, so many opportunities, so much abundance – compared to most of the world we live lives of luxury. This year the main theme was family; Arthur started the conversation by saying that he is grateful for family, in fact, he said it is the only thing he is grateful for. In their turn, along with other gratitudes, everyone added their gratitude for family.
Throughout the years my family has changed in so many ways. First there were two of us, then one by one we added those wonderful characters…. the children. Then the husband/father left (another story). The children went out to find their own way, knowing that they were welcome to come home at any time. Before I knew it they were bringing home boyfriends or girlfriends, who in some cases became a part of the family, and then sometimes they left, not unloved and sometimes still in our thoughts. And then they started getting married, and getting dogs. I also found a new person to love and care for.
Family has nothing to do with time or distance. It is loosely started when two people decided to “be together”, but it doesn’t have anything to do with marriage bonds; and it isn’t all about blood relationships. It seems to me that family is those people brought into the “fold” by its members. It is an intimacy that exists due to a decision to accept each other as we are and to support each other to be who we want to be.
I am so grateful for my family as I find it on this day, Richard, Arthur and Kaldi, Jeana and Jason with Carols and Chloe, Gordon and Sakurako, and Laura and Wally. They are each amazing people with incredible abilities, dreams and hopes. Each has his or her own quirks, buttons, issues, attitudes, or flashing points; but of the 7.5 billion people in the world, this is my family, and I love each one of them in their own way. We have common stories to share, and as we each plow through our years we bring new insights back to our family. Each one of them has brought me such joy. They have at times been the source of anxiety and deep soul searching. They have enriched my life, helped me grow, made me cry and had me rolling in laughter. Family is unconditional love.