Fam(ily)

I’ve stayed away because I have not been able to formalize how I really feel. I do not know how to put together the words to explain the depth of a word so simple but holds such a profound impact – fam(ily).

I received  phone call this morning from a former student. At 6am. I expected the usual banter back and forth that he usually does through snapchat or through texting that usually ends with me forgetting to respond to his last message. But this time was no laughing matter. The subject he brought to me was literally life or death. I thought to myself, what in the world made him call me of all people at 6 in the morning? And before I could get the thought out, I knew the answer. I was fam(ily). While I am not certain when he adopted me,  he knew I loved him. He knew that I cared, and he knew that I would take his situation straight to the feet of Jesus.

Over the past week or so, I have watched my fam(ily) closely. Just minutes before I left the house, I was in a funk. I read a short post that knocked that funk right out of me.

All I could remember was how I snapped at my son all evening yesterday when all he was trying to do was be around me.  He brought his trains into the office where I was working to spend time with me, but I yelled at him for making too much noise in the background. I told him to stop talking so much when we were picking out his eggs for Easter egg hunt that I was supposed to turn in the day before. To think that when my son was in funks of his own as a teenager, and in his 20s, and his 30s that he would hear my voice snapping at him was eye opening to say the least. My funk ended immediately.  He’s fam(ily) and I love him…

My sister’s blog is wildly successful seemingly overnight. And I could not be happier for her. When she succeeds, we both succeed. Her victories are our victories. Her triumphs are our triumphs. She’s fam(ily), and I love her.

My husband received another head coaching position, and I am still celebrating. I am more than a proud wife. I want to post how excited I am every day. Yet, I know that would overwhelm and bore him and everyone else. But he’s my heart, and when he gets a promotion, we get a promotion. When he comes up, we come up. His excitement is our excitement. And his sisters feel the same way. As soon as even the hint of a negative word came out surrounding his new position, they fiercely protected him. That’s their brother. That’s my husband. That’s fam(ily). And we love him.

I put braids in to start my natural hair growth journey, unsure if I would actually make it through said journey. Then someone mentioned something to me that made my decision stick. She said that you and your daughter can enjoy this journey together. Absolutely we can. What better way to help my daughter whose curl pattern is much different from my son’s curl pattern to embrace her hair and herself and to love herself just the way she is than to show her that mommy’s curl pattern is also different. So I will stick to this new path for my daughter because she is fam(ily) and I love her.

To the sister-in-law and nieces who screamed and volunteered me onto the stage at Orpeus Ball: thank you. You are fam(ily) and I love you.

To the brother-in-law who reads all my blogs: thank you. You are fam(ily) and I love you.

To my mom who paid us $100 to dog sit for a dog we would watch for free just to put extra spending money in our pockets: thank you. You are fam(ily) and I love you.

To the best friend who planned an entire day of food and shopping on my restful trip to Lafayette…

To the best friend that bought me a heater because I was cold downstairs at my house…

To the best friend that sends me inspirational messages every day…

To my co-workers who accept me as scatterbrained as I am…

Thank you all. You are fam(ily) and I love each you.

To anyone reading this message, take time to give an extra hug, extra smiles, extra kisses to fam(ily) and the fam(ily) you adopted. Somewhere, someone lost a mother today, a brother, a sister, a best friend, a co-worker, or a student.

Time is promised to no one.

So I wanted to take a moment of the time I do have to appreciate the fam(ily) God sent me. I want to say thank you, and I love you. Each of you was sent here to save me.

And for that you will always be ordinarily extraordinary.

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