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| Jesse's wedding in L.A. (February 14, 2009) |
I was wasting away my time on Facebook tonight and started going through past profile pictures randomly. It was fun to look at past photos and laugh as I recalled many of the moments that the pictures were taken, but I was also filled with an immense gratitude for my family, especially my siblings, as I came across pictures that included them, as well. I've always believed that the family unit is an immensely powerful influence in an individual's life, whether for bad or for good. The power that family has to shape a person is beyond words or measure, in my opinion.
Although I grew up in what most would probably call a dysfunctional setting (Who am I kidding, I'd be the first to say so), and even though we siblings grew up with half in one parent's home, and half in the other parent's home for most of our lives, it is amazing to me that we all seem to have such a strong bond with one another and love to spend time with each other. I can definitely say that my siblings are among my best friends, which is something I'm always sad to realize that so many others cannot.
I've had the unique opportunity, I think more so than any other of my siblings to have one-on-one times with each of my siblings. From my 8th-9th grade years where I was constantly spending time with my oldest brother, Gordon, to my opportunities of having times during my junior and senior years of high school of being the only other sibling at home with Aubrey or Jesse, to my post mission era of becoming besties (Yeah, that's right, I said "besties. Tender moment) with my youngest seester, Lina; let's not forget all of the years I spent sharing a bed with Daniel.
We've all grown up now and are going about our lives in different areas throughout the western United States, and have ventured into different lifestyles. We have some pretty heated family e-mail conversations, and definitely don't all see eye to eye on things. But if there is one thing that I know, it is that my family is the most valuable thing that I can call my own and that there is no group of people I'd rather spend time with because albeit loud, we're pretty freaking funny, and fantastic!
I totally agree with you and thank you for posting this... I have been having a hard time with family issues as of late what with my lil bro getting divorced and the probable loss of valuable time with my sweet nephews... it's been hard to feel good about the things people do to one another... on the flip side of that same coin, it has given me some one on one time with Devan since he moved home that we haven't had in years and I am loving it. My family is my life as well even though we can be a big pain in each other's rear ends a lot of the time.
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