We Are Family

My family means everything to me. Undeniably. I played bingo with Bev, went shopping with Judy, got sassy with Marva, was babysat by Sonny, teased by Bubba, and wrote letters to the state penitentiary for Tubby. And this is just my Dad’s siblings. As a child I was lucky enough to see parts of my extended family daily and although we did not have many family reunions, with such a big family, even “small” gatherings took on a reunion feel. I never realized how lucky I was to have a family who made an effort to see each other and show love for one another regularly. But just as the planets have the sun, families have a centrifugal force. A young child may see that there is no sun at night and believe it has gone, but once the child matures and learns, she realizes that all the stars, the moon, the plants, everything, everything is still feeling and affected by the sun, even when we can no longer see it, we still feel it’s presence. Rumi, a great spiritual leader of Sufism, expressed that almost everyone, spiritually, are children. We have not, nor may we ever, reach spiritual maturity. I too am merely a spiritual child, but I still yearn to play bingo with Bev, go shopping with Judy, get sassy with Marva, be babysat by Sonny, be teased by Bubba, and write letters to Tubby. I am mature enough to realize and feel the effects of our unseen suns. However, as I look around me at the meandering members of my family who refuse to realign, I feel sad and confused. I will be back in Pittsburg July 30th and will stay until August 19th. I hope to feel and/or see everyone with all of their love and imperfections. Maybe one day, as we children run around and play this game of life, we will be able to mature just enough to no longer stray too far and realize the importance of each other as we already are and how lucky we are to have had and still have one another.