Did You Know

Mom and Dad did you know the legacy you were leaving behind? Did you know the work and love your poured into your life would spill over into mine?  Did you know that all of the years that you hosted the family reunions, that the love you gave to others would return to me?

Did you guys know that the foundation of love that you created, would support me after you were gone?  Did you know that you were creating a safe place for me, where I would be accepted, where would belong, where I would matter?  Did you know that you were creating a world for me as well?

Did you know, as you were planning the reunions, as you were preparing the food and cleaning the house, that you were making sure I had a place and a family too? Did you know as you were talking on the phone with them, that you were laying the groundwork for me? Or that when you poured them coffee, or wine, or made the beds for them to stay, that you were making sure that I had family after you were gone?

I think somehow you did know, because you always thought about things like that. Because you knew somehow in your wisdom, that I would need them too. I think that somehow you know that they would love me too, just as you loved them. I think you know and understood that circle of life and love would make it’s way around to me.

I think you knew how important it was to leave a legacy of love, after seeing the devastation that hatred and resentment leaves when passed down to he next generation. I think you knew and understood that the legacy left by them would be unkind, so you knew you must create a foundation of love and support.

And I thank you so much for what you knew. I am so thankful for your legacy, that carried me in love now. I am thankful for that circle of love that keeps me now, because it makes all the difference in this life. And I love you all the more for it.

Family Ties

“The memories we make with our family is everything.” -Candice Cameron Bure

Family is so important for many reasons.  They are the people who are connected to us by blood, by heart, by souls. They know our history, our faults, and great qualities and more.  They know who we are, the good bad and the ugly.  They fill the spaces and cracks within us with love and belonging.  Because we all need to feel like we belong, like we matter. Because we do.

And this past weekend I was reminded by just how much love, acceptance, and belonging is out there. I spent the weekend with my cousins, at the beach, just the three of us girls. We grew up together, though they are older than I. I was the flower girl at one of their weddings, and one was there when my beautiful mother passed. They have always been wonderful to me, and my parents.

And to me, it was a reminder of how much love truly surrounds me in this life.  Family can be by blood or friendships, and these ladies are ones I am blessed to have in my life. They are people who I would want to know even if we were not related.

there are people in our lives who reminds us of who we are, who we want to be, of our values and dreams and life. They inspire us deep down in our soul. And their existence in our lives makes all the difference, because it is with them that we matter and belong. They make us laugh and are our tribe.

Life is short. Spend time with those who love you, whether in your life by blood or choice. Because we all need a tribe. We all need that unconditional love of those who know us well. And those are they ties of family.