I quite often speak in this space of my immediate family and how much they mean to me. I don't often mention my extended family. In addition to my parents (I have three) and my siblings (including a step brother and sister, five) I have a large extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, niece, nephews, grandparents, in-laws (formal and informal).... Not all of them are still living (in fact, some that have had the most profound effect on my life are no longer here) and many of them I see only seldom, but all of them have in some way impacted positively on my life. I have memories stretching as far back as my memories go, full of them, rich with them. No matter where I am in the world, I feel them out there, supporting me, part of me. They are the bedrock of my existence and I think I sometimes forget to mention them because they seem so interwoven into the fabric of who I am that I take them for granted.
In particular, this week I've been thinking about my aunts - four strong, amazing women who have each left an indelible mark on my heart, who each in her own way has always been there for me, believed in me and, despite having her own trials to overcome, provided an example of how to live life abundantly, creatively and compassionately.
Today I've been thinking about this, about them, about how thankful I am that we are family.
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4 comments:
How special to be close to your extended family! I feel sad that we are not particularly close as an extended family.
It sounds as though they have been very influential, and always there for you. That's good.
My immediate family met up with family here in Germany over the summer, that they hadn't seen in many years. It was so good.
this touched my heart.
This is beautiful.
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