Family - Guest Blogger

As I mentioned here, I am enlisting some of my "in real life" friends as well as my blogging buddies to help me out!

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Take it away, R!

When the lovely La Tache asked me to guest blog for her of course I agreed! Hers is one of the first blogs I can remember following. Then she asked me write about family and I got a bit of a panic feeling in my stomach.

How the heck am I supposed to write about family when I come from such a dysfunctional one? My parents are divorced. Dad remarried while mom decided to come out and say she was interested in women as well as men. Sister is divorced. I'm married and living 9 hours from my new husband. I grew up in the Navy so we weren't surrounded by grandparents and cousins and such. Heck, my uncle and his family didn't even come to Sisters wedding! We aren't exactly the living embodiment of a good family. Or at least that is how it seems as first.

My family is there for each other. Divorces, bad decisions, elopements, military career choices, relationship choices. We stand up for each other. When I had trouble enlisting my Uncle Batman stepped in and got things moving. My family all stood by me as it took 2 years to drop the weight the Navy required and took on every road block I came to in the process. They are there now when I am frustrated with how schooling is going and when I wonder if I made the right choice.

My family loves each other. Growing up my nana always said Sister would be my best friend someday and we thought she was crazy! Little did we know how right she would be. When someone launched an attack on Sisters character it didn't matter if I wasn't supportive of her choices, she was my sister and no one was going to be able to do that. I'm allowed to pick on her, no one else is! We give each other a hard time but under it all we know we love each other more than words can say.

My family isn't all blood related. Sure you are born into a family. But my family at church means just as much to me as those I spend all the holidays with. They are the ones who cried when I left for boot camp and who have been praying for me since I first stepped into the chapel. Their kids were my babies from youth group who I miss every week. It's my family there I call when I need some extra support.

My family is just starting. Recently I eloped. I married a man only half my family has met and whos family I have yet to meet. Yet when we made the calls to everyone there was so doubt from anyone. There were tears of joy. Screams of congrats. His family already calls me one of them and my family has taken him in as one of us. My mother even flew him to Chicago to surprise me on Thanksgiving. He is now my family. He is the one who I will have children with. Who I will grow old with.

So no, my family might not be so perfect on paper. But it's a good family. It's one I'm learning to be proud to be a part of.

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R is the author of a very real blog that I enjoy reading!

She is honest and raw and I always enjoy reading her blog!
Thank you for your candid post!