Family.
Have you
ever thought about what that word really means? In light of the T and J
revelation, I’ve been thinking about it all week, and my conclusion is that
family is anyone you love unconditionally
– with no judgments and no
expectations.
Though my immediate family
is distinguished by blood and last name, it doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t
consider anyone else a part of my family. For example, our helper L is someone
I would not hesitate to call family. She seems like such a big part of my life
that, looking back, there isn’t just one moment I can go back to when I realised
that she became family. In fact, trying to figure out when this transition
happened just plunges me into an ocean of all my memories… so maybe that’s what
it is! That if someone’s been there for me long enough... they inevitably start
feeling like family.
With T and J, the situation
is reversed. We’re related by blood, which makes them immediately my family,
but the reality is that we don’t know each other at all. Decades of their lives
have passed without me knowing they even exist. I guess this is the part that
I’m really struggling with… it’s just scary
to label someone as family and not know the first thing about them. The only
solution I see is to work a lot harder to make up for lost time. I wonder how
long it’ll take T and J to start feeling
like my family too.
Having said that, what
comforts me is the fact that even before I knew J and T were related to me, I
sensed a bond, a strong connection that assured me that they are good people. Moreover, that they are
people I need in my life. So it’s not completely ridiculous for me to assume
that they’d still be a part of my life even if the truth didn’t get out –
crazy, huh?
On that note, I’m going to
leave you this week with a quote that beautifully captures the wonderful
complexity of family and of how I’ve been feeling lately:
“Family.
Like branches on a tree, we all grow in different directions, yet our roots
remain as one”.
Xoxo
Fru Fru Shru
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