family is an interesting thing, a complex thing. just because someone is family does not mean that you need to get along. it doesn't mean that you need to be as close as the sand and the sea, or the cake and the icing. it means that through blood you are connected. it means you have similar genetic make up. hell, maybe it's your hips, eyes, nose or feet and well sometimes it can be nothing more than just that. i feel as though every family has a story. perhaps it is made up of an individual that may be a thorn in ones side, or simply presents challenges too great to mask. one cannot choose their family, it is god's plan for whose presence we are blessed with enough to share a name. so, get over it.
now, with all of that said, family can be just the opposite if you're lucky. i, i am lucky.
i have women in my life that are special, unique and incredibly similar to me. similar in mannerism, similar in thought, similar in attitude and similar in anxiety level. thank you family genes! sure, there are fabulous men in my life, family alike sure, but that can be for another post. there are women in my life particularly that i am very thankful for. i am blessed to call them my own.... as in, family.
i have an amazing mom. kind, gentle, passionate, slightly crazed ;), and very pretty...among other things of course. i have an aunt who is strong, sarcastic, honest, stressed but ever classy. i have a best friend who is well, the best rock a girl could ask for, need i say more? i have a godmother who is special, contagiously funny, slightly laid back and ever supportive. i have one grandmother who is delicate, quiet and simply elegant, timeless if you will. this of course brings me to my other grandmother, my mom-mom if i may...
before i give insight into this amazing woman, i have two quotes which stare me in the face every day as i log onto my computer...both from exact times i couldn't tell you, but they made such an impact at that moment that i needed to write them down to remember forever;
"I told you, go for what you want. Don't let people sway you. People may try and stop you, because they think that have a better idea, but don't forget you have good ideas too"
"Like my grandmother used to say to me... if you knew how hard you were going to fall, you would just sit down"
this woman is raw in her honesty, strong in her drinks and her wisdom is something i aspire to portray as i age. she is humble. and, IF you listen closely, you can get a glimpse into a world that is vivid and told from experiences i cannot completely grasp. she is southern slow and northern "matter of fact". she is to me, the best kind of family. the kind of family that marries the meaning of what family CAN be, IF you let it. i see myself in her craziness, her stress and her strong passion for things she can only voice. and well, i love her. deeply.
so with a little insight into that unspoken bond between a woman and the women in her life, there is a granddaughter and grandmother that make family all it CAN be and i couldn't be more blessed to have her call me, her own. her first. always.
so home i go, and not for anything more but a little family time. much needed family time.
