Gratitude for my Family

It's that time of year again.

You know, that part where you get maudlin and actually remember to tell people that you care about them.

Oh, wait, am I the only person who does this?

Is this the first year that I've *ever* done this?

(It isn't. But it's still pretty rare. I tend to remain pretty self-involved).

I'm incredibly lucky when it comes to my family. I don't talk or write it enough. Especially when it comes to the people I never see.

Mal's the most obvious person here. He gets all the attention. I think that suits both him and D just fine.

They're both great kids. I'm incredibly lucky on both counts.

And then I also have a wonderful wife, who deserves more credit than I can ever give for what good adults both those kids are growing into.

I take a little bit of credit for good taste where she's concerned.

But, really, there's a much broader net involved here.

I spent most of my formative years with two people who were wonderful to me and gave me access to two big, wonderful families. I didn't have any idea how lucky I was in the genetic lottery until long after I'd grown up and gotten a chance to see just how bad most families suck.

My parents split up somewhere about the same time that I hit puberty. I wish they'd done it years earlier (after they'd had Khrys, of course), because they just were not happy together.

I mostly blame my dad for that one: I'm pretty sure Mom would have gone along and been happy if he could have. I guilted her into talking to and trying to forgive him as he was dying, and he told her that he felt like he'd never had a chance to be happy.

That sucks for him, and I wish he'd had a happier life.

It makes me appreciate mine all the more.

My parents both remarried. The step-families I acquired weren't the same as the ones I grew up in, but they're mostly good people.

Well, there are some really bad apples in the barrel. But I still stayed pretty lucky.

Then fast-forward a few years, and Laura was kind enough to join her family with mine.

I know she has a lot of family I haven't met yet.  I know she also has some bad apples in her barrel.

But the ones I have met are wonderful additions to my life.

You know who you are. Thank you, more than I can ever say, for sharing your wonderful daughter/sister/aunt/cousin/former-roommate/photography subject/partner-in-crime/pyramid brick/dance partner with me.

I kind of like her. Just a little bit.