Family

Today is Father's Day, so I'd like to start by wishing a Happy Father's Day to my what a man James. He is a wonderful father and step-father and incredible man. I am so glad he has become my family.

Family...this is something I have thought a lot about lately. Sometimes, the family we are born into isn't so much something lovely as it is something to survive. My own family is great in many ways, my mother has become an inspiration to me and a friend, my sister, a friend and fellow working mother- busy, dedicated, desperate for five minutes alone like so many of us! My father...Well he's my Dad, but I had to reconcile long ago the dad I had with the dad I wanted. When I was younger I cried for hours after watching Father of the Bride (the newer one), yes it's a touching, funny movie, but who would cry for hours? Well...I would! I cried when I realized that Steve Martin's character was very similar to the dad I wanted, but not the one I got. Now this is not a pity party though, I have learned many things because of my father. I have learned that I am strong, I am smart, I am beautiful, I am good, I CAN DO ANYTHING! No matter what I heard from him growing up, no matter how many tongue lashings he handed out, I have found these things despite him. I have forgiven and mourned the dad I wished for, and am grateful for who I am because in large part who I am is a direct result of being raised by him.

Here's the thing with family, we can be born into one that shapes us whether good or bad and we have no control over that. Later, we can stumble upon another family. Not the family we are born with, but the family that adopts us, the people who come into our lives (I believe very purposefully with the help of God), and they support us, celebrate us for exactly who we are and they help shape us into the best versions of ourselves, the people we were always meant to be. I have found that in my James, I have found new family with my children, and I have found family at work.

I ended up at my workplace by some magical force, I know that this is where I am supposed to be at this moment. I am surrounded by people who I am a better person for knowing. Have you ever seen that visa commercial with the schoolboys in backpacks? The line at the end is "Being with people who get you...priceless." I have found people who get me. A wise guardian who gives us wings, a dynamic leader who believes all things are possible, and a group of amazing people who believe we can do something amazing. I have found my best friends here, I have found a new family and I am the best FAB ever because of it.

The world is a sometimes scary but magical place. Open your eyes to the people around you and learn to trust the rhyme of the universe, and you will find the people who get you, it really is priceless!