family matters.

When we were little girls, our mom always told us that our sisters would be our best friends.  And it turns out, she was right.  Each day I am more and more grateful for my family and their support (including the fact that they adore Caleb and welcome him without reservation).  Of course, we are not perfect.  But we do support each other and love each other.  There's simply no replacement for my family and I am counting down the days until I get to see them again!

I've been sick in bed and missing my family a lot.  And as I lay here and gestate think about raising a child, I've been reflecting on what made my family so special so that I can try and give my child the same love and support.

TEN THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY FAMILY

1.  If you start singing, someone (or two or three someones) will join in with the harmony.  Or (more often in my case) tell you that you're singing the wrong lyrics or that you were flat.

2.  We eat yummy food.  Basically, we were spoiled growing up because of Mom's cooking.  It's fun when we get together because we share food.  My eldest sister is the only person on earth who has gotten me to eat beans without gagging because she made an amazing corn/bean salad (and now I eat that salad on a regular basis).  My second oldest sister is always coming up with interesting ethnic food options for us to try.  Even with dumb allergies that limit our options, we always have healthy, fresh food (with an occasional bit of junk food thrown in for good measure, of course)

3.  We debate things.  A lot.  Because we all like to study and we all have different opinions.  But the thing about family is that you can get into a fight over politics, but it doesn't really ruin dessert because you all knew that you'd think differently anyway.  I like being in a family with different opinions because they stretch my brain and make me think about issues in a different light.

4.  We text and call a lot.  I talk to my mom at least once a day, sometimes it's a lot more.  And hardly a day passes that I haven't talked with at least one of my sisters.  I'm a little more sporadic about contacting my dad and brother, but I'm trying to work on that.  :)

5.  We have jokes that are probably ridiculously stupid to anyone else.   The other day I texted my baby sister "Ahh!  My arm!  My arm!"  And she knew what I meant.  That's true love, folks.  The last time we were all together, we had a singalong to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  It was epic.

6.  We make road trips fun.  We listened to hours of Adventures in Odyssey growing up, especially when we were driving.  We played games.  We sang.  We covered our ears and cried as one sister (who shall remain nameless) sang the first line of the Barney song (I love you, you love me) over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.  We got into the car at 4am in our pajamas and looked forward to our morning stop at Cracker Barrel where (if we were really, really lucky) we would get hot chocolate with our breakfast.  :)

7.  We share things.  Like music suggestions, nail polish, scarves, jewelry and sometimes even beds (especially if someone is home from college and we want to have time to giggle and talk under the covers).

8.  We make fun of each other.  And we tease each other about little idiosyncrasies.  But we are also very vocal about our love and appreciation for each other.  There is no question about our appreciation for each other and there is also no awkwardness in expressing it.

9.  We can have fun doing absolutely nothing.  We can sit around for a couple hours but it is always interesting because we're talking, singing, playing games, reminiscing, playing with doggies, etc.  In all honesty, there is never a dull moment.  Something is always happening.

10.  My family is a safe place.  They have been with me as through long, awful medical tests.  They have been there when I've cried about the fact that my health is always going to be sucky.  They have encouraged me to keep going when I wanted to give up.  I've seen them get up in arms when people have hurt me.  When I am with my family, I am free.  I am able to be myself without reservation.

there it is.  my list.  can't wait until the next time i get to see my family!