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This week, I have had a lot of time to reflect on what family really means to me. I came up with some pretty important stuff.
I am lucky enough to have grown up with a very close extended family. My mom is one of five children, and all of her brothers and sisters have at least two kids. My cousins were my best friends growing up and I always looked forward to having the whole family together for things like beach trips and graduation parties.
Being the second to youngest cousin out of sixteen, I had a lot of older cousins I could look up to. I always looked up to them as my big brothers and sisters. My aunts and uncles love me and care about me as if I were their own kid. We are one big happy family, and no matter how wild or crazy we can get sometimes, we always will be.
With that being said, family to me is a bond that can never be broken. It does not matter how much you fight or how much you think you can’t stand one of them, you will always be family. Â
No matter how far away we may be, we are always there for each other, and that is one of the things I love the most about my family. Having three cousins in the military causes us to be very far apart, but it doesn’t stop us from being as present as we can in each others lives.
Family is something that is really important to me, and that is something that will never change, no matter what kind of family drama comes into play. Family isn’t about taking sides or choosing who is right in a situation. Family is about forgiveness and being there for one another. It is about standing up for each other and never giving up on one another.
Now I know all of this sounds pretty cheesy, but that really is family, at least to me. I know that no matter how far away from one of them I am, even if we’re separated by an entire ocean, I would be there for them in a heartbeat.Â
So my advice to you: Never give up on your family.
In the words of my Uncle Bret, “Live, love, enjoy life, and forgive. It will bring you peace.”