When you're young, they tell you your family is the most important thing in your life. As you get older, you appreciate this more, and add to your family. And I'm not talking about children or spouses. I'm referring to the friends that stick around through your first love, first break up, stalking your first ex, your goth phase, your hippie phase (complete with half-assed vegetarianism), your ho-phase, and any other ridiculousness you tried.
Don't get me wrong, the family God gave me is plenty of fun and didn't need to be changed. My dad's family is straight-up country bumpkin (Yes my grandmother calls all feminine hygiene products Kotex and informed me there "ain't no niggers with the last name Jackson"...she also feeds me more than one person should ever eat then proceeds to call me fat. Oh and calls me a hippie for listening to rock. It's endearing, really...) and I wouldn't trade their crazy family feuds and redneck ways for anything in the world! (That's how I learned to snap peas and cook!) Papa would spoil us rotten and we frequently argued over the best Popsicle flavor while riding a tractor. My mother's side are Damn Yankees (ha ha ha Just wanted to use that) and they're superstitious (yeah I picked that up) and believe in ghosts (yep that too) and talk to ghosts and see ghosts and my grandmother was as crazy as a loon (which I hear we will all pick up at some point...and I'm OK with that). She made candy all the time and had a mean-ass black poodle named Bandit that I wanted to kick in the face but Mom said that's not nice. My grandfather's favorite color was sky-blue-pink which confused the hell outta me (kept telling him "That's purple Grandpa!") til I grew up and saw a sunset.
Then of course after my parents divorced, we had MORE family that I didn't choose. My step-dad's family is kinda crazy in a fun sorta weird way. As I got older I learned they weren't so much fun but my uncle used to catch a ton of hell from me for having no hair (I was 13...I think it was my job to be a shithead) and my grandma's dog really enjoyed riding with me while I learned to drive (this is a lie as I threw her wiener dog across the car slamming on the breaks). My cousin is fantastic and a great cook (even decided to start a religion called Nanism once) and my daughter loves her daughter, even though they've only met once. My step-mother's family is a little more scarce, as I was quite a bit older when my father remarried. My grandma, however, is hands down the coolest grandma to have. She loves The Crow and frequently gives me Cd's and movies that I've never heard of and turns me on to things that are new. She's a goth granny and I love it!
So as you can see, I didn't need to add to my family, expand my family (except my Pie, who is the coolest addition EVER. And my not-in-laws who are always in my heart despite Pie's father being an idiot.), replace my family or otherwise alter it in anyway. I have a uniquely awesome family. (I forgot to mention my brother, who was a bastard when we were young but could be one of the funniest people alive nowadays.)
My extended chosen family is the best I could ask for and I never wonder if they love me or think I'm crazy (the latter because they KNOW I am) and they are always there in a pinch. Some are far away and I miss them in my life on a steady basis, but they are all the greatest and this makes it hard when someone asks who my best friend is...because honestly, all my friends are the best!
They have been so helpful as to stalk people at strip clubs with me in the middle of the night, help me move back to NC by letting me crash and getting me a job, holding my hand when my ex died and I couldn't even look at the flowers without crying, and letting my mascara and dirty hair land on their lap while I cried through the entire funeral. She has been there for all my insanity (even when I decided I wanted to be a vampire cuz I read The World On Blood- best shit ever!) and she's still there for my insanity.
Judy has been to Hell and back with me, even fighting over previously mentioned asshole that impregnated me. She will stick up for me at a moment's notice and blow up anyone that thinks they should treat me badly. I was there for Lamaze class (and even dragged people with us for entertainment purposes) and she was there for my horribly depressing pregnancy. I was there for her mother's death and she's been there for crazy men and assholes and let's me crash at her place when I'm lonely. It never matters how much time has passed between us fighting and making up, we're there in a heartbeat when it counts. We're so connected that when we reconnected after the fight over the ex, it was the day that I was leaving literally minutes before I left that she called.
Sheart is me in another body and her husband is wonderful as well. They are always there for me and Broseph will screen any boyfriend (and more than likely not like him) if needed...and has offered to knock them off if needed...which could be necessary someday! She even rushed over to fix the hole I put in my hand the other night with scissors...cuz I'm awesomely coordinated.
I could go on and on and on about all my amazing people in my life. People I work with, people I hang out with, people that I get to talk to but rarely see. I guess this is really just an attempt at letting everyone know that I love them and they are appreciated! I apologize for writing a book...but my house is very quiet without Pie here and I needed to kill some time.
No comments:
Post a Comment