Family...

So lately I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time around my family. Truly I appreciate it given that I usually live too far away to see them more than a few times a year. I always figured growing up that we would be the ones all living down the street from each other with our own individual families. I pictured us having weekend barbeques, traditional sunday dinners and raising our children together. Our children would run the fields on my parents property playing night games and having bonfires just as I did as a child. They would be surrounded by cousins who would become their closest friends and have frequent sleepovers. Boy was I wrong. With half of our family now out-of-state it's harder to stay close and to really know each other. Kind of a shame given that each of my siblings have very different personalities and life experiences that teach so much. Each of them have chosen such different partners and daily living. It amazes me that we all grew up in the same family and yet came out so different. Each has contributed significantly to who I am today. I remember once when I was nine or ten. I wanted to learn to sing. I sat in my oldest brother's room and spoke with him about my ideas. He gave me simple words of encouragemet and by the time I got up to leave I was convinced I needed to ask my mom. (Not a small thing given my upbringing. We never had a lot of money but instead an unspoken rule that we wouldn't ask for things that cost anything.) My brother introduced me to a new approach where I would look through the phone book and call all the music advertisements checking for prices. I must have called 9 or 10 places and selected the one that was the best deal. Then I went to my mom. She was impressed at the research and cosidered it more than I had expected. Eventually I was able to work out a deal to do extra chores so I could have singing lessons. Sixteen years later and I still don't have a voice that is worth aything but my brother taught me something very valuable and at such a youg age. He taught me that I should pursue things that are important to me despite my circumstances. He taught me to become informed and and be proactive and the rest will come. When I began college ten years ago I had no idea how I was going to pay for it. Education was never stressed in my family. At the time I was living on my own and paying rent. One semester at a time things worked out. I have many more examples of my brother's pearls wisdom that I have picked up along the way. What a great blessing I have had to grow up in a family where I could learn so much. I am so grateful to them and I continue to look to them despite our physical distance.