i’ve spent more time with family in the last two weeks than i probably have in the past six months, and its got me thinking about what a strange, unique instituition family is.
it started almost exactly two weeks ago with the sudden passing of my great-uncle…i was getting dressed for kallie and chad’s wedding when my dad called me to tell me the news…i’m not sure what i felt, its a strange feeling to hear that someone you know has died, kind of like you are a big, red balloon that somebody just squeezed all the air out of…nicole and i attended the wake and the funeral, and i got a chance to see and talk to family i hadn’t seen in forever, or didn’t realize i had…funerals are an interesting time for families, when they try to regroup after losing one of their own and move on with their lives…its such a uniquely human experience, one of those times where you really feel alive, ironically.
last week, i headed to my mom’s house to stay for a week and a half with my brother and sister while my mom traveled to italy…now, i’m probably one of the worst excuses for a sibling, i try to keep in contact with them and take an interest in their lives, but it seems like things always come up and i end up asking my mom how they are doing instead of finding out for myself…i was a little apprehensive about this little stay, but things turned out really well…its weird how you can just fall back into normal sibling relationships, even if you haven’t hung out or talked in a while…me and my sister hung out and just bullshitted a lot, and me and my brother watched a ton of tv and talked about music or sports…it was a nice time to just talk to them, and see how things are going, and its just so weird to see them growing up into adults.
today, i went with nicole and her family to participate in family portraits…its just so cool how i’ve been so quickly adopted into nicole’s family, and her into mine…every time we are around, i immediately feel welcome and wanted…i don’t even think of them as nicole’s grandparents, or nicole’s cousins, they are my grandparents and my cousins…its a really cool feeling, that i imagine not a lot of people get to experience, and i’m just so glad that i lucked into a cool second family by dating an awesome girl.
alright, that was a heavy article, full of feelings and shit, and i feel a little weird about writing it…but fuck it, this is my blog, and i’m allowed to do more than just write about what i did last weekend once in a while…still, i’m having difficulty hitting the ‘Publish’ button…yes, no, yes, no…click