The Fam

I see posts from time to time on the Internet in various places where people express their thoughts about their relationship with their family. Unfortunately, many of those posts have one theme in common: complaints.

Am I blessed to have the family that I have? A large, raucous bunch that above all else, holds close? You betcha!

There is an 18 year age difference between the oldest and the youngest among my siblings, and I'm second-to-last on the chain of offspring. Unfortunately, both of my parents have long since passed away, so we have no matriarch or patriarch holding us together. We are all involved with our respective lives, children, grandchildren, employers, civic work, and so forth. We are ALL different, each one of us, despite the fact that there are several multiples (twins and triplets) among my sibs -- my own twin, J, included.

Do I consider my family special? You bet I do. Are they different from anyone else? Probably not, in the grander scheme of things. Do we bicker like the adult children in certain television dramas? Well, some of us think differently and have differing opinions, but we're not so dramatic about it. If we disagree, we say our piece then move on. Love and blood really do triumph over positions on certain topics.

I was touched and honored when two siblings commented on a blog post that I wrote yesterday. They didn't comment as much about the content of the post itself as they commented about me. Totally unrequested, unprovoked, unnecessary. But their commentary demonstrated once again several things: 1) my siblings love me unconditionally; 2) my sibs accept me for the man I am; 3) my sibs don't judge; and 4) they read this blog! (oooooooh!)

I am honored, truly honored, to have the family that I have. We are different men and women. But as I said, we respect each other and love one another without question. My life would be much less -- less interesting, less valuable, less accomplished -- if it weren't for my siblings' unflinching support and the lessons that we learned and have applied from our parents.

So yeah, I am truly blessed with a wonderful, close, caring, thoughtful, warm, and loving family. I wish everyone could have siblings as I have. I wouldn't read any more complaints on the internet about dysfunctional families. I would read more stories like this, about how great a family can be as children mature and develop adult relationships, as we have.

A point of clarification: I don't call any of my siblings a "friend." The old adage says, "you can pick your friends but you can't pick your family." That's true -- and in my case, even if I could pick a family, I couldn't have selected better.

Life is short: show those you love that you love them. Unquestioningly. Nonjudgmentally. Enduringly. When it all comes down to it -- family is your blood. I respect that, and extend my love each and every day in many ways.