family

As I fly through the air at highspeed, far above the clouds, I'm realizing that I've been pretty quietly lately, and yet I have a LOT to say.  Ironically, I've pretty much lost my voice.  The first thing I want to talk about is family.

JD and I have spent the last week in Ohio, at my parents house, and were joined by my older brother and his wife for a few days over Christmas.  I love my family, and every time I see them, I don't want to leave.  My father has four children, and my brother and I are also my mother's children, and all four of us kids live in different states-- none of us in Ohio.  So, my parents have four kids, four grandkids, and one great grandchild.  In a few years, my brother and his wife may start having kids, and in five to seven years, JD and I plan to start thinking about kids.  We're continuing our family, even as we spread out-- though my parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents all stayed in the same region of Ohio the rest of us are moving on-- and while I grew up with family close and present, my future children will likely not have all their relatives close at hand (though since we are moving to JD's hometown, we may be near his family at least).

It always always surprises me how much I don't want to leave, how much I wish I could stay near my parents, and how much my parents age between each visit.  They both still look younger than their 65 years, and generally act younger too, but their age is starting to show in their joints and their health-- they've both had cancer, and my father had to go into the emergency room yesterday, the day after Christmas.  As I write this, they've likely completed surgery to remove his gallbladder-- a relatively minor ordeal compared to other health issues, but still more than I'd like for him to have to experience.

I know I am incredibly lucky to have such wonderful parents, and I wish I could do more to show them appreciation and to help ease their lives, but I just don't know what to do, except to keep moving and living my life, which becomes more adult with every day.

I do think that the family we grow up with does a lot to shape us-- I'm of the view that nature makes the kind of clay, and nurture shapes it, so to speak, so I do think our families have a lot of influence--- and I do fel extremely lucky to have the family I do, with wonderful parents and a great older brother, and half sisters who ahve always been there if I needed them even though they're twenty years older than me.  It's a good antidote to all the people in life that suck.  and in a few months, I'll be married, and JD and I will be our own new branch of family, inspired and influenced by both my parents and his parents, and the lessons we've learned.

Basically, I guess what I'm trying to say is that family is important , and if your family has been good to you, you should appreciate that.