Forming Family

It is almost Easter and that means I get to start battening down the hatches and getting ready for the great family dinner that occurs around this time of year. The great thing about family is that we don't always have to get along and we don't even always have to like each other. The one thing we will always do though, is love each other. That is the greatest part of family.

Forming a family is something that always takes time to do. It doesn't happen over night. It doesn't always even happen simply because of genetics. In fact, there are many cases in which it doesn't happen at all even with the force of genetics on the side of the family. Family is such a fragile thing. It comes together with such magic and can't be held together with glue or string or even sheer force of will. It is held together with love, compassion and trust.

The aspect that seems to hold my family together most is the sheer insanity of it all. I usually say that craziness is genetic in my family and it probably is. It might even be adopted by those who chose to willingly become a part of it. This year, for the first time in my life, I am taking a person who is the best part of my life to a family Easter dinner. I know that he will be fine. I'm just worried that I might not be.

There has never been anyone who really wanted to be a major part of my life. Now that there is someone, I'm scared because I've never felt like that before. I've never actively wanted someone to be a part of my family.

All the families I have become a part of in my life are simply because I was in the right place at the right time with an open enough heart to care. Where I work over the summer has become more family than I ever really expected. There are those who I attend school with who have become the greatest form of support for me. I never really expected any of this to happen. These people have simply become my family because I love easily.

Something my mother said over my Christmas holidays had me thinking about the day when I will form my own family. It will start with the partner I choose for my life, the people who he calls family, and then those who we will bring into our family. God willing, one day there will be our children to add to that number. Within that group we will form our own traditions, plans and hopes. We will become a family.

I may not be able to hold my family together with glue or string or sheer force of will, but I know that I will be able to form a family with love, compassion and trust and I can pray that that will be enough.