Family...

I guess you could say that I come from a motley crew. We come in many different shapes and sizes, carry different religious, and political beliefs, don't get me started on socio-economic status, and even sexual orientation. The thing is, I love this unlikely group. The sad part is, I don't know most of them. We are scattered here and there across the country, and, in some cases, around the world, but some are almost right in my backyard.  I seem to live isolated from all but a few of them. In a perfect world, we would all be able to gather at least once every few years to celebrate our connections with one another, sharing laughter, tears, joy and sorrow, reveling in the newest members of our clan and mourning the loss of others, but this is not a perfect world. Instead, I have family I haven't seen in 15+ years, and more than a few I wouldn't know if I passed them on the street.  I've been lucky that I have been able to reconnect with a few through sources like Facebook, and I am truly happy that I have, but I am saddened that it has come to this. Maybe I am an idealist in that I believe that family, no matter how dysfunctional we may be, is still family, and, short of one committing some completely heinous crime, you treasure them. 

I am blessed with the gift of having not just two sides of a family (mother and father), but four, with each of my parents having remarried.  While I know that the original two sides will never combine again, I am saddened by the fact that I don't even get to see many of those extended family members or get to share in their lives, nor do I get to share mine. I would love to see or connect with any additional members that I may not know, or at least hear their stories through one of you that I am in touch with. I have so few memories of much of my father's family, and many of my mother's don't even speak to one another. I miss the connection. I  feel like I am missing out on so much.