We Are Family

This is, without a doubt, the latest blog post I've ever written.  It's also, without a doubt, the only (I think) blog post I've ever written while intoxicated.  That's a small miracle in itself, knowing my affinity for the alcoholic beverages, and while it might be advisable to wait until this is somewhat easier to type, I feel the need right now.  So ignore or forgive the typos.  I've fixed more than I've left, I guarantee.

I write this tonight after a night full of Family.  I was about to write "family fun," or "family frivolity," but it wasn't all something I could fit in those categories.  Good lord, that sentence was hard to type.

What I want to say is that I love my family.  Every last, flawed, dysfunctional one of them.  I love them!   They are the ones who made me who I am today.  I'm among the few who remained standing at the end of this evening's function, at the early morning hour of 3:00 a.m.  Part of that is self-preservation--everyone knows that the first person to leave a party is the one that everyone else talks about!  But part of it is about wanting to glean every last moment out of the few occasions that we all have to get together during the year.  I'm not going to leave at 8:30 when I might not see my cousins for another six months!  Life is too unpredictable, and I'm not missing chances.

We gather at holidays.  We rally at times of crisis.  But what we also do, and I know that every family does, is get caught up in the day-to-day where we go weeks or months without speaking or getting together.  It doesn't mean that the love isn't there, but it is a reflection of effort.

Today I cooked, I prayed, I hugged, I ate, I drank, I hugged, I joked, I danced, I comforted, I reminisced, I mourned, I enjoyed, I understood, I loved.  I laughed a lot, and I also cried a lot, more than anyone else.  I cried early on for those who couldn't be with us tonight.  Later on, I cried for those whom I miss terribly on a daily basis, and for those who are facing a crisis of their own.  At some point, I just cried because I couldn't stop.  All of those tears were shed with my family members.

I love my family.  They are most of who I am, and hopefully, most of who my son will continue to become.  I don't like everything about all of them, but I don't have to.  We have shared experiences, but also different perspectives on the same events.  We have differing opinions about things that may happen in the future.  All that being said, we love each other.  And that's really all I wanted to say.