Friends & Family

Not long ago , someone had a conversation with me about family, this person told me how over the years she had learned that family is important but there are times, that its the family you make outside your family, that matters just as much. Not that she was saying family doesn't matter . Family always matters but choosing our battles can be so important. I can't say that I have much experience with extended family, a huge portion of family on both my parents sides are Amish. I've always regretted not having a closer relationship with them , my best guess is that I have over a hundred first cousins. Some of it I chalk up to crazy religious beliefs the Amish have when you leave the church, and some of it just a lack of effort on my part. Lately though I've been thinking about the friends I have made over the years , the ones that have stuck with me for years and years and the new ones I've made in the last year. I'm so appreciative of them, I find myself thinking I take so much from them and don't give back nearly enough. I'm not an easy person to know, I have lots of fences and walls that I keep people at bay with , but the friends that have dared to stick with me are amazing. I suppose you could say I've developed a new appreciation, a new respect, a new realization for those amazing people in my life, family or not.