After this weekend, I have caught myself in daydreams, reflecting on family, reflecting on friends and more keenly, on friendship. The one positive outcome of my Father’s death 13 years ago is that I have tried to focus on a few special people in my life and have rarely taken them and my relationships with them for granted. This weekend I learned that my family and friends feel the same way about me. It’s more powerful than I can describe, knowing that a friend has stopped being just my friend and has become my family. A new family member that I can go to sleep talking to and awake from sleep, only to pick up right where we left off. Do you think we spoke in our sleep? I wouldn’t doubt it.

It’s more powerful than I can describe, knowing that my family is more than a family. They are generosity, an open mind, acceptance, and love. They are one look away from laughter, they are knowing what the other is thinking all in a quick smile. They are trust, they are freedom, and they are happiness.

I promise to enjoy my family without fearing that they will fall away with time, job relocation, life changes, or death. I will remember that no one can take them or their love from me, and my memories will keep them with me all the days of my life. I will relish in their empowering abilities and in the happiness they bring me every time I meander along in a daydream. Thank you Family, for making me who I am and the person I am proud of.