CHAPTER 2 : My Family

Sent: 11/26/2001 12:23 AM

Never have I been so in love with my family as I am right now after my visit home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Mom, Dad, Tara, and I had a wonderful visit. Sure, we had our ups and downs like all families do, but overall, it was one of the best visits home I've had since I moved to New York. Perhaps it's because my perspective has changed. Perhaps it's because we're starting to understand each other as people beyond the titles of "dad", "mom", "son", "brother", "daughter", "sister". Perhaps it's because we're growing up, and as we get older, we are realizing the value of each other. Perhaps recent tragedies have taught us that we can take nothing for granted, that we aren't guaranteed tomorrow, that the four of us - always a close family - still have room to get even closer.

Today we decided to make a brand new start, to support each other more than ever before, to be sensitive to each others' issues, to be considerate of each others' feelings, to respect each other in their situations, and to continue loving each other no matter what life throws our ways. Let me tell you, it may sound easy, but it's not. Mom, Dad, and Tara are three unique individuals that I know almost as well as I know myself, and that can be a pretty scary thing at times. Just as they know just what to say or do to push my buttons and set me off on a tantrum, I have the same capacity. It's kind of like those lines you hear in movies, "Now that you have this knowledge, will you use it for good or evil?" Well, from now on, we've decided to use it for GOOD!

As I think about it, I realize that I am so blessed to EVEN HAVE a family that can even talk about such things, much less to have a family that can stand together in the den, hold hands, and pray to God to help us love each other more and more as the holidays roll by. Can one be overly blessed? I feel so.

I love you Mom, Dad, and Tara, always and forever.