What Does Family Mean To You?

What does family mean to you? People are groups of descendants from other common people who are parents and children of families who live together.

So many different things I would imagine. One may immediately think of their parents or their grandparents. Possibly the wonderful memories they have of their siblings. Perhaps the next phase of one's life is all about their current family, their spouses and children. Maybe one does not ever want to exclude a special friend in this classification of FAMILY.

For myself, FAMILY means many different things. My immediate family . . . my parents and my brothers . . . this family means chaos to me. I am estranged with my mother and my father passed away long ago. My brothers (twins) and I have banded together, fortunately, and have remained close throughout our adulthood (with a few bumps in the road). I would say that we are best friends.

I learned a long time ago that I needed to create a family for myself since the one I was born into was non-functioning. I learned to surround myself with really good people. Wonderful women and men who guided me in the right direction. Wonderful giving families who took me under their wings and lead me to flourish to the person that I am today. I watched these wonderful friends who were mothers interact with their children and their families and I knew that someday I would be able to achieve this.

A family of my own

Today, my family includes my dear husband, who I give an incredibly hard time to, who I hold to an incredible standard and who loves me still. My FAMILY also includes my children, who have my heart in their pockets forever more, who can being me to laughter with a twinkle of an eye, who can bring tears to my eye with a knowing glance and who I adore more than anything.

My family encompasses my friends, my good friends, the ones who know me and love me despite all my crazy flaws, my friends who I have met over the years working and traveling, my friends who I consider my family.

This life is discovering who I am in the midst of all the chaos and the changing. My greatest joy is the love I give and and the love I receive. As I wander through this life of mine, falling in love with my husband and anything that moves my heart, as I watch my children grow and learn so much through and from them, as I continue to reach forward while bringing along the past and letting bits and pieces of it fly off as I go. I enjoy the freedom of seeing the bits and pieces I no longer need fly away and how light I feel as I wander on to new adventures.

Discovering where I want to go

and how I can get there with my family and friends faithfully to my side. I have learned to let go. I have learned to move on. I have learned to trust or not to trust and learning that this is okay.

I have learned to protect myself and demand the best for my own life and that of my family.