Friday, November 16, 2012

The Blessing of Family

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."
Jane Howard
            
Live long enough and you’ve acquired lots of families. For me, there’s the family I was born into and lived with eighteen years, the real and mythical family two friends and I invented and wrote stories about still going after fifty years, the many different groups of friends who became family, the family my husband and I created, and now the family of my grandchildren including their friends and in laws. These are the people I celebrate with, the people who often remember my birthday, remember my history when I’ve forgotten it.  They are the strength and the snags in the fabric of my life. I miss my family when I’m not with them. I’m happy to leave them after we’ve spent time together. All my families have created who I am today. Writing about the blessing of family is a huge topic and is as confusing as family itself. 
Baruch ata adonai...as I’m writing this prayer, I keep getting stuck. I wanted to write a simple thank you, and then I wrote and erased thoughts about being lucky and then you started talking to me about it not being luck...that I’ve worked to create relationships, and then I started talking to you about how I could do better, and then you agreed. Thank you for bringing me to this Thanksgiving season and letting me know I’ve done well and I can do better with the grateful part. Amen

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