My Goofy Family

Now that Christmas is almost behind us, we can look ahead to a new year.  I have come to realize over time, slowly and ponderously, that I have a great family.  It's extremely broken, it's haphazard, it's not terribly genetic, but it IS mine....
  My sister and I are very close....almost twins in how we think, and always seem to be there for one another when times get tricky.  We stuck by each other growing up, when life got...difficult. 
  My older brother, although very different from me, is still important in my world and I'm glad he is around, for better or worse.
  I have Half Sibs, all three of them I love separately and with a fierceness that cannot be underscored. Ok, I CAN underscore the text in the blog, but that's not the point.
  Dad is far away, but I think of him often, My Adopt-a-mom is always nearby and Im thankful for the surrogate family I have with my closest friend and his family, who treat me as one of their own...
  My long lost Aunt and Uncle, and Grandmother... New to me but not new in their feelings for us kids. Good people, and I am thankful to be involved with them, even this late in the game.
  
  The over riding message this holiday season was simple. People cared back when I felt alone, abandoned.  There were family and friends who watched from afar, helped where they could, stood up as best they were able at the time when we could not stand for ourselves....
  We were loved.  Whether we felt it at certain times or not, we were loved. This is a good thing.

  I am the person I am because of my choices, and the choices of the parents before me.  I learned life the hard way... maybe the hardest of ways, with a mother who could not care if you lived or died...and as far as I know, still feels the same. But the scales of life seem to balance out over time, and Karma really is a bitch.  I am loved, even now, and I know that for all my failings, I have recognized and accepted it where it was offered to me.

  Now THAT... that is a Christmas gift that no one, not even my vindictive mother, could take away from me.

  I am glad that it is almost over.  One more family gathering tomorrow with my special relatives, and then things will calm and settle down into the dark of January. This year, the first time in many, many years... I encountered the problem of too many family events and not enough time.  For me...for my family, that is a very rare thing.
  Anyone who knows me (and my family at all) will understand the weight of this blog.

  Cheers, and good will to you and yours.  From my home to yours, be safe and Happy Holidays.