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31 Days of Five-Minute Writes: Day 2 - Family for Five Minute Friday


Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/. This week's word is Family.

This is my family, many years ago on Easter Sunday. So much about this epitomizes family to me. Here we are all dressed up in new clothes made by my mother, me and my sister dressed alike as we did for so long. Matter of fact, we still often meet up for dinner dressed alike because our mother often buys us matching items for Christmas. This photo was taken at my maternal grandmother's house, where we gathered every Sunday after church. After time, moves across the country, and increasing age, we stopped this tradition and I still miss it to this day. There was something about touching base with everyone once a week that was so wonderful. I still have lunch every Sunday with my parents and my sister but it just isn't the same as the extended family being together - kids in the living room at the kids' table, adults sitting around the table long after the meal was finished, catching up on life.
This is the family I chose - my Tribe. We come from different cities and different backgrounds but for a time, we all lived in the same city and it was glorious. Friday night happy hours would start at 5pm and end with pancakes at Village Inn at 2am. Birthdays were celebrated in grand style, also into the wee hours. This family stood around me as I sobbed in my backyard and wondered out loud why my husband left. Many have moved away and others have experienced life changes that have changed the pace of their lives but when we gathered for a wedding in Maine, the evening we spent together was like those we so often found ourselves spending at home and it was magical.

I also now have a church family that fills so many voids in my life. They are my spiritual family, who in the last few years has brought so much comfort, joy, and fellowship into my everyday being. I don't know where I would be without them.

Family can mean so many things and can be found in so many places. It's what tells us who we are, marks, where we have been, and leads us to who we want to be. It is such a precious gift, no matter whether it is the family you were born into, or you created, or you joined. Family is everything.
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  1. Marcy Nell HansonOctober 3, 2015 at 11:55 AM

    I love this. Yes, family comes in so many shapes, sizes and for so many reasons. Lovely post and pictures!

    ReplyDelete

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