Before I moved to the country I was warned and advised that country life in a rural setting was hard and the isolation from people could be difficult to tolerate. This did not worry me too much. I was going to be with my soul mate and best friend. Plus I had my cats . I have never been one given to huge masses of friends - rather I make a few close friends. It is these people that have been through the storms with me. Some have been human- and others animals. Little Sophie is one of them. Shy and timid , Sophie was rescued from a cat shelter. She is a small bundle of sheer love. Once trust is won- Sophie is always around to cuddle up to or sit with. She has a quiet acceptance that I most value in my friends. The way she sits with me when I am upset and seems to say " I dont know how to help ..but I am here" Sophie is family.
Living so far away from my own family - there are times when I miss them terribly. Christmas and New Year are the hardest. Still I have found a wider family who I hold close to my heart. I talk to them daily , share joys and sorrows and vent. Oh! how wonderful it is to have family to vent to. I have a huge circle of moms , grans, and sisters. I have my quilting bee online in Quilt Talk. These women are my family. We sit around the table each day and discuss what we have quilted , new projects to start , pets who have been ill, love life and children , In laws and out laws....we talk about life. No pretense or judgements - just life . We share from our hearts , weep with each other , laugh and tease. The bond is invisable and strong.It is funny to think how far this love for each other stretches........from Idaho, to New York, to Germany, to Canada a whole mass if sisters across the USA.......Ohio, Texas , North Carolina , Kansas, Missouri..., Australia.and New Zealand. We have never seen or met each other - but the love and concern we share for each other is real. For outsiders it is unreal and impossible, For us it is simple- we are family. Today we are saddened ,one of our own has lost the love of her life. Our sister needs us - and love filters in from all over the world...hugs , kisses , words or comfort and prayers. We join hands across unseen miles and hold onto our friend . We will walk with her till she is able to be strong again. We are family.
The events over the past days have made me ponder the whole idea of family - what it is - who it encompasses. So many of us struggle with our own families - the expectations , the demands or simply the mold we are required to fit into. Hurt caused by our families can run so deep and hurt so badly. We look at the TV families and wonder - what on earth happened to ours. I read once a beautiful sentiment - that family are those you love you - accept you - and give you room to grow..They love you first before asking ..why. There are some who will insist that family must be blood related, draw from the same line, be just like you to count. They deny the possibility of the bond of family from people unseen and distant...but such is their loss. I have a large family - a brother who lives in quiet simplicity in a large tin shed, sisters and grans who sit around and quilt with me , brothers , dads , uncles and such. Everyone is accepted and everyone belongs .We are a strange crew - none of us look or sound anything like the other .But we have a bond far deeper and stronger - love , acceptance and belief in each other. We are family.Simple.
It’s funny how folks feel closer to their friends than their own families. I am reminded of the quote, “Friends are the family we choose for ourselves”. Had it not been for the friendships I have formed over the years, I would not have had the strength to get through the most difficult and stressful times of my life.
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